Luka Doncic’s last-second jumper seals a dramatic overtime win for the Lakers, while Victor Wembanyama powers the Spurs to victory with a dominant all-around performanc

LUKA DONCIC drained a baseline jumper with half a second left in overtime to secure a thrilling 127-125 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

The NBA scoring leader recorded a triple-double with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, outdueling Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who also had a triple-double with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists.

The game only reached overtime thanks to a dramatic play from LA’s Austin Reaves, who scored a game-high 32 points. He rebounded his own intentionally missed free throw and sank a tying basket with 1.9 seconds left in regulation.

“I saw they only had one person on that side so tried to miss on that side and go make a play,” Reaves said.

After the score was deadlocked again late in the extra period, Doncic delivered the final blow. “I just wanted to get my shot off,” the Slovenian superstar said. “I saw there was an opening so I went to the other side.”

The Lakers squandered a 17-point lead and later erased an eight-point Denver advantage in the fourth quarter. The win improved their record to 42-25, good for third in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets fell to 41-27 and sixth in the West.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen the crowd here,” Doncic said.

The Lakers also clinched the season series over Denver, securing a key potential tie-breaker edge in the standings.

In San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama delivered an electric performance to lead the Spurs to a 115-102 win over the Charlotte Hornets. The 22-year-old French center scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for San Antonio’s 17th victory in 19 games.

Wembanyama added eight assists, three blocked shots and two steals, avenging a January loss at Charlotte. “That might have been my worst defensive game all year,” Wembanyama said. “So yeah, we had to make a statement today.”

The Spurs improved to 49-18, the second-best record in the NBA and only three games behind the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

“What’s next is pretty straightforward. We want to win everything,” Wembanyama said, adding he is focused on keeping his body healthy for the playoffs and his quest for the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Wembanyama scored four points and added an assist in a decisive 12-0 Spurs run that gave them a 104-88 lead with just over six minutes remaining.

Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks stretched their win streak to nine games by defeating the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 122-99. Jalen Johnson had a triple-double for the Hawks with 23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

The Orlando Magic’s win streak reached seven games with a 121-117 victory at Miami, ending the Heat’s own seven-game run. The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 111-100, extending Washington’s losing skid to 11 games.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 104-97, led by a season-high 28 points from Quentin Grimes.

 The Sun Malaysia