BASKETTBALL

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Reigning champions Oklahoma City have the NBA’s best record, but they can’t find a way to defeat San Antonio, with superstar Victor Wembanyama coming off the bench Thursday to help lift the Spurs to an emphatic 117-102 victory.

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Cooper Flagg scored 23 points as the Dallas Mavericks dug deep to upset the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 116-114 in a bruising overtime battle on Thursday.

Number one draft pick Flagg excelled at both ends of the court to help the Mavs clinch a morale-boosting victory that sees them improve to 11-17 for the season.

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Cooper Flagg joined former Mavericks star Luka Doncic as the only teenagers in the NBA to post at least 33 points, nine assists, and nine rebounds in a single game during the team's nail-biting win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.

The Nuggets missed the chance to close the gap on Oklahoma City after losing a thrilling duel 131-130 against the Mavericks on the road in Texas.

Mavericks prodigy Cooper Flagg once again stole the show, with the gifted 19-year-old No.1 draft pick scoring a game-high 33 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Flagg's performance was backed by 31 points from Anthony Davis as Dallas outdueled Nuggets duo Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who accounted for 60 Denver points. The Nuggets almost snatched victory at the buzzer, but Peyton Watson's wide-open three-point attempt bounced out after hitting the rim.

"We're just coming together, trying to have each other's backs," Flagg said. "Obviously Jamal and (Jokic) had it going - so we were just trying to take those guys away and make somebody else beat us."

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The New York Knicks will attempt to find a way past the imposing 7ft 4in (2.23m) frame of San Antonio Spurs prodigy Victor Wembanyama on Tuesday as they bid to end their 52-year trophy drought in the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas.

The Knicks head into Tuesday's final at the T-Mobile Center brimming with confidence after polishing off Eastern Conference top seeds Orlando with ease in Saturday's semi-finals.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder got back to winning ways with a 119-103 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander led the scoring to give the Thunder a morale-boosting victory after their defeat in Minnesota on Friday.

"We weren't at our best tonight, but we did enough to win - but we've still got to get better," Gilgeous-Alexander told NBC television. Memphis flirted with an upset after starting brightly, taking an early seven-point lead in the first quarter before Oklahoma City took control in the second quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander was backed by 24 points from Jalen Williams, while Ajay Mitchell had 16 off the bench.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 31-point contribution extended his incredible scoring streak.

The Canadian star has now scored 20 points or more in 100 consecutive games, making him only the second player to achieve that feat after Wilt Chamberlain.

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Cade Cunningham scored 32 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics 112-105 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference standings on Monday.

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LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Doncic scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers recovered from blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to top the Phoenix Suns 116-114 on Sunday night.

Phoenix trailed 99-79 with 7:48 left, but took a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds left on Dillon Brooks’ 3-pointer over James, who made contact with Brooks after the shot. Brooks bumped James on the way back down the court, earning his second technical foul and an ejection.

More importantly, it gave the Lakers a free throw, but James missed it.