Two 22-Point Comebacks in One Night: Wednesday in the NBA

Two teams were down 22 points on Wednesday night. Both of them won. San Antonio came all the way back in Chicago for its tenth straight victory, Boston did the same thing in Toronto and scored the game’s last eight points, and on a ten-game night the collapses were only half of it — Franz Wagner matched his career high in Utah, Houston ended Golden State’s eight-game winning streak, and the league went to bed still waiting on Stephen Curry’s MRI. Here is the whole night, game by game.

Spurs 124, Bulls 119 — down 22, never rattled

Chicago’s first quarter was the best anybody has played against San Antonio all season: 41 points, and midway through the second quarter the Bulls led 64-42. The Spurs trailed 70-56 at halftime, opened the third quarter on an 18-3 run, and spent the rest of the night showing which half was the fluke — seven Spurs finished in double figures.

Victor Wembanyama finished with 32 points, nine rebounds and five blocks on 13-of-18 shooting, and rookie Dylan Harper added 18 points, 10 assists and four steals. Jalen Smith led Chicago with 23. It goes down as San Antonio’s second-largest road comeback of the play-by-play era — a tenth straight win for a 10-2 team, and an eighth straight loss for the Bulls, who are 1-9 and just watched a 22-point lead dissolve in their own building. The full box score lives in the Game Center for Spurs at Bulls.

Celtics 98, Raptors 93 — the biggest blown home lead in Raptors history

Toronto led 59-37 midway through the second quarter, the largest home lead the Raptors have ever blown. Boston answered with a 16-0 run — Jayson Tatum scored the first 10 of it himself — cut the margin to 61-54 by halftime, and then won the game the ugly way: Toronto scored 13 points in the entire fourth quarter and still led 93-90 inside the final minute. Boston scored the last eight.

Tatum’s line was 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds; Derrick White added 19 points, seven assists and four blocks; Neemias Queta gave Boston 11 points, 13 rebounds and a plus-27 in the minutes that flipped the game. Boston did it without Paul George, out sick a night after his 36 in Philadelphia, and the win closed a 4-0 road trip: five straight wins and a 10-2 record. Toronto, missing Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard, fell to 5-6 — and has to play again tonight. The Game Center for Celtics at Raptors has the full play-by-play.

Magic 123, Jazz 108 — Wagner matches his career high

Franz Wagner scored 38 points in Salt Lake City — 13 of 23 from the floor, 9 of 10 at the line, eight rebounds — to tie his career high for the third time, and to make it three straight games of 30 or more: 101 points across the three. Twelve of the 38 came in a fourth quarter Orlando won 38-21.

Desmond Bane added 25 points with seven three-pointers, and Anthony Black 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. It was Orlando’s first set of back-to-back wins this season, closing a four-game trip at 2-2 with a 4-7 record. Utah’s excuses are real — the Jazz played without three starters, including Lauri Markkanen, who learned earlier in the day that a broken right hand will cost him at least a month — but the streak is real too: ten straight losses and a 1-11 record. The Game Center for Magic at Jazz has the full box score.

Rockets 115, Warriors 108 — and still no word on Curry

The basketball was almost beside the point in Houston. Stephen Curry lasted about six minutes — three points, done for the night after tweaking his ankle on a 28-footer early in the first quarter — and as of Thursday morning the Warriors still had no MRI results to share, with Steve Kerr telling reporters the concern is high. Curry did tell teammates at halftime he expected to be OK. Alperen Şengün had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, Kevin Durant scored 20, and Houston snapped Golden State’s eight-game winning streak. The Warriors play Friday at San Antonio in the NBA Cup, which is exactly the kind of game an MRI now hangs over. Our full story: Curry Leaves for an MRI as Rockets Snap the Warriors’ Eight-Game Streak.

The rest of Wednesday’s board

Indiana beat Washington 114-101 behind Pascal Siakam’s 28 points and Ivica Zubac’s 20 points and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn hung the night’s biggest number on New Orleans, 145-111: Egor Dëmin scored 22 in his return from a six-game absence, Michael Porter Jr. added 22, and the Pelicans lost their fourth straight.

Denver took the night’s closest finish in Memphis, 123-118. Jamal Murray scored 30, 17 of them in the fourth quarter, and Nikola Jokić added 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a game the Grizzlies refused to let go of. The Game Center for Nuggets at Grizzlies has it possession by possession.

The games we covered in full

Cleveland won at the Garden, 115-107, on the night James Harden picked for his season high — 32 points against the Knicks. Our wrap: Harden Picked the Garden for His Season High.

In Milwaukee, Luka Dončić scored 30 or more for the ninth straight game and the Lakers won their seventh straight, 123-112 — though he left late with an ankle scare. The full story: Luka Dončić Leaves Late, the Lakers Leave Milwaukee With Seven Straight. And Portland finished its two-night sweep of Oklahoma City, 118-108, behind Deni Avdija’s 28 points and 18 from Damian Lillard: Avdija Scores 28 as Blazers Beat the Thunder Again to Complete a Two-Night Sweep.

Flagg comes to Minnesota, and Toronto has to play again tonight

Thursday’s board is four games. The Raptors, about twenty hours after the collapse, are in Philadelphia (7 ET), and Detroit visits Washington at the same time. The marquee is in Minneapolis: Dallas and Cooper Flagg at the 8-3 Timberwolves, 8 ET on NBA TV from the Target Center, with the Mavericks 7-4. Charlotte at Phoenix closes the night at 9 ET. Every score, as it happens, is in the Previously NBA hub, and the season lines for Wembanyama, Tatum, Wagner and the rest are in the NBA Stats Hub.