Wemby hits 37 of 40 in first half to rout Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Victor Wembanyama scored 37 of his season-high-tying 40 points in the first half of the San Antonio Spurs' fifth straight victory, a 136-108 win over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Wembanyama had the highestscoring first half in the NBA this season, and the highest-scoring half by a Spurs player in the 21st century, while going 12 of 17 from the field with three 3-pointers against a Lakers lineup missing Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

Wembanyama played only the first eight minutes of the second half with the Spurs, which were far ahead in their 10th win in 13 games.

The French big man became the third player in the past 50 seasons to score at least 40 points while playing 27 minutes or fewer. He also had 12 rebounds.

Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart also sat out for the Lakers on the second night of a brutal back-to-back set against the Western Conference's top two teams. Doncic and Smart are injured, while James, Reaves and Ayton are all managing health concerns.

After winning the opening tip, Wembanyama scored 17 points in the first 4:15 on 5-for-5 shooting. He had 25 points before checking out with four minutes left in the Spurs'47-point first quarter, and he added 12 more in the second.

Carter Bryant scored a career-high 16 points and Dylan Harper had 15 for the Spurs.

Luke Kennard and Drew Timme scored 14 points apiece for the Lakers. Bronny James had 12 points and six assists.

Spurs guard Stephon Castle had seven assists, before leaving with a bruised pelvis after blocking Rui Hachimura's shot and falling hard with 4:10 left in the first half.

LeBron missed his 18th game of his 23rd NBA season, disqualifying him from making his 22nd straight appearance on the All-NBA teams.

NBA scoring leader Doncic missed his third straight game with a hamstring strain.

Siakam shines

The Indiana Pacers, fueled by 30 points from Pascal Siakam, stunned the New York Knicks 137-134 in an overtime thriller at Madison Square Garden.

Eight Pacers players scored in double figures to bring home the win in a game that featured a season-high 39 lead changes.

Andrew Nembhard added 24 points and 10 rebounds and Quenton Jackson scored 19, including two game-sealing free-throws with 3.9 seconds left in overtime.

Jalen Brunson scored 40 points with five rebounds and eight assists for the Knicks. Josh Hart chipped in a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points apiece — Towns drilling two free-throws to force overtime before fouling out in the extra session.

'Collective spirit'

The Pacers scored the first nine points in overtime, before the Knicks staged a furious rally, cutting the deficit to one on a three-pointer from Brunson before Jackson closed it out at the line.

The Pacers have been a shadow of the team that beat the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined by the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in their NBA Finals loss to Oklahoma City.

But, they snapped a four-game skid with just their fourth road win of the season, this one against a Knicks team that came in tied for the second-most home wins in the league with 21.

"This was a really important game for us," said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. "The season that we've had, this environment, the opponent — our guys had a great collective spirit and collective will tonight."

In Houston, Kevin Durant scored 26 points to lead the Rockets to a 102-95 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Down by one at halftime, the Rockets took control in the third quarter. They led by six going into the fourth and quickly pushed the lead to 15 to cruise home.