There were wild scenes in San Antonio when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich grabbed the arena microphone to tell his team’s fans to stop booing Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard previously played for the Spurs before requesting a trade back in 2018, and San Antonio fans clearly haven’t forgiven the superstar forward.
Leonard was booed on nearly every possession during the first half of the Clippers match up with the Spurs, which forced Popovich to call out the fans inside San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center while Leonard was attempting free throws.
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“Excuse me for a second, can we stop all the booing and let these guys play,” Popovich said to the stunned crowd.
“It’s no class and that’s not who we are. Knock off the booing.”
The announcement was met with a mixed reaction from the fans, with many cheering the coach while quite a few booed even louder.
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The booing did nothing to deter Leonard. He led the Clippers with 26 points, guiding L.A to a 109-102 win against his former team.
For the Spurs, it was their tenth straight loss and they languish at the bottom of the Western Conference.
They won’t challenge for a postseason spot, but first overall selection Victor Wembanyama continues to show why he was the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James, handing in a superb all-around performance.
Wembanyama scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in addition to three assists and three blocks.
AUSSIE JOE SHINES AS MAGIC UPSET DEFENDING CHAMPS
A day after fooling several defenders with a savvy move in Orlando’s big win over the Raptors, Joe Ingles and the in-form Magic were back at it again, this time with the much stiffer assignment of the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Ingles has had quite the impact as a veteran presence for this young Magic team in more ways than one. Against the Nuggets, he was going to have to contribute heavily off the bench for Orlando to stick with them.
He certainly did that, scoring 12 points on a perfect 4/4 shooting to go with seven assists as the Magic mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to down the Nuggets 124-119.
Showing off a range of silky smooth skills, pinpoint passing and stout defence, Ingles did it all, recording a team high plus/minus of 9.
Ingles now has a plus/minus figure of 75 for the season, which puts him in the top 30 in the league in that category. That’s pretty good going considering his limited minutes off the bench.
Denver’s star big Nikola Jokic was keen to redeem himself after getting ejected in the Nuggets last game, and he did that with a huge 30-point triple double.
The Magic were down by nine points in the fourth quarter, but were able to rally and record their tenth win of the season.
YOUNG STEALS THE SHOW IN EPIC OVERTIME DISPLAY
Trae Young made up for missing what would have been a game-winning free throw at the end of the fourth quarter, by scoring 14 of his team’s 16 points in the ensuing overtime period in the Hawks 147-145 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Young finished the game with 43 points, but he came alive in overtime, taking the game on and seemingly hitting everything. It was a sensational scoring outburst by one of the league’s best attacking guards.
He was engaged in a dual with Nets guard Mikal Bridges, who had 45 points and ten rebounds.
It was essentially a game of one-on-one between Young and Bridges in overtime, with the two players exchanging buckets in an entertaining contest.
While Atlanta possess one of the most potent offences in the NBA, they sort of have to considering their poor defence.
Against the Pacers on Wednesday (AEDT), the Hawks conceded 157 points before letting the Nets put 145 on them just 24 hours later.
In any case, the victory over the Nets is a win the Hawks will take, as it stopped a three game losing streak.
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CELTICS SURVIVE BUCKS’ LATE COMEBACK IN BATTLE OF EASTERN CONFERENCE HEAVYWEIGHTS
Despite leading by as much as 20 points at home, the Celtics only narrowly scraped home to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 at TD Garden, extending their margin at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The Celtics looked to be cruising throughout the second and third quarters, before Milwaukee rallied in the fourth to get within three points after a Damian Lillard triple with 44 seconds remaining.
However, the Celtics would hold their nerve in the final minute and move to 12-3 on the season, while the Bucks (10-5) dropped back to be two games behind Boston in the East.
Boston’s big three of Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Jayson Tatum, who was in doubt to play because of illness, all had strong outings.
NBA SCORES NOVEMBER 23
Wizards 114 @ Hornets 117
Nuggets 119 @ Magic 124
Bucks 116 @ Celtics 119
Heat 129 @ Cavaliers 96
Raptors 132 @ Pacers 131
Nets 145 @ Hawks 147 (OT)
Grizzlies 91 @ Rockets 111
76ers 99 @ Timberwolves 112
Kings 112 @ Pelicans 117
Clippers 109 @ Spurs 102
Bulls 102 @ Thunder 116
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