Mikal Bridges makes Victor Wembanyama's record night less sweet

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday after Mikal Bridges and Victor Wembanyama exchanged 40+points for their teams.

Sophomore Wembanyama shot 16-for-31 from the field to drop a double-double of 42 points and 18 rebounds in addition to four assists, one steal and four blocks for the Spurs. He set a new scoring record in a Christmas Day game in franchise history and came in third of all players in their debut of the occasion, behind only 43 points by Tracy McGrady in 2000 and 45 by Wilt Chamberlain in 1959.

Bridges produced better efficiency after making 17 of his 25 field goals (FGs), including going 6-for-9 behind the arc, to get 41 points for the Knicks. That was the second-highest score in a year-end game in franchise history, next to only 60 by Bernard King in 1984. It was also the third time in NBA history for two players to surpass 40 points on Christmas Day.

Wembanyama's presence caused great pain for Karl-Anthony Towns who was completely outsized by the French "Unicorn." He was called for two personal fouls in both the first and third quarters and eventually found himself sitting on the bench. 

Wembanyama displayed true dominance in the first half by both knocking down shots from downtown and rattling the rim in the paint with 24 points and 14 rebounds. The Spurs led 58-51 after the first half. However, he struggled to make shots in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. The triple he made at 7:44 put the Spurs ahead 99-94, but it was the last shot he made in the game.

Bridges had 16 points in the first half, but it was nothing comparable to what he did in the second half. He and Towns combined to contribute 21 points in the third quarter for the Knicks to outscore the opponents 37-25. Then Bridges knocked down six shots, including three triples, in the fourth to get 15 points. The screen play between him and Towns at the end of the fourth quarter led to a jumper made by him in front of Chris Paul and Wembanyama. That shot gave New York a five-point lead, 116-111 when there were only 78 seconds left.

Paul made a three-pointer in the final 40 seconds to cut San Antonio's deficit to three points at 117-114. Jalen Brunson then missed a game-sealing jumper, but Josh Hart grabbed two straight significant offensive rebounds to keep the victory at home.