Brooklyn Nets vs San Antonio Spurs Picks and Predictions December 27th 2024

Victor Wembanyama Focuses on Big Picture as Spurs Face Nets

Victor Wembanyama enjoyed a stellar individual performance on Wednesday against the New York Knicks, but it came with disappointment as the San Antonio Spurs fell short. Following his 42-point, 18-rebound effort in his first NBA appearance on Christmas Day, Wembanyama and the Spurs aim to snap a two-game skid Friday night when they face the Brooklyn Nets in New York.

The Spurs have had time to regroup after their early Wednesday game, and they hope to capitalize on another standout performance from their young star. Wembanyama’s fourth career 40-point game saw him connect on 16 of 31 shots, including a career-high-tying six 3-pointers from 16 attempts.

Despite his heroics, the Spurs have struggled in close contests. After a five-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, they were unable to hold off the Knicks.

“I’m thinking about the game right now,” Wembanyama said after the Christmas matchup. “We were close, but we lack some attributes at times.”

Spurs’ Struggles on the Glass

San Antonio’s persistent rebounding issues hurt them again on Wednesday as they allowed 17 offensive rebounds, marking the fourth time this season they have conceded that many. The Spurs have struggled even when shooting well, as Wednesday’s loss was their first in seven games this season when they shot at least 50 percent from the field.

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“(Wednesday) just proved that we’re not ready yet,” Wembanyama said. “This is how I see it, because it’s high effort to play like that, but it’s also high rewards.”

Wembanyama has excelled against the Nets in previous matchups, totaling 33 points and 15 rebounds in a March 17 game in San Antonio and scoring 21 points in Brooklyn on Feb. 10.

Nets Looking for Momentum

Brooklyn has been in a rough stretch, going 3-8 over its past 11 games, but the team comes into Friday’s game off a solid performance. The Nets bounced back from two double-digit losses with a 111-105 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. The Bucks played without stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter resilience was key. Cameron Johnson and Shake Milton led the charge as the Nets outscored Milwaukee 35-23 in the final period. Johnson scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, while Milton contributed 14 of his 20 points during that stretch. Brooklyn shot 57.9 percent in the period, erasing a nine-point deficit.

“Sometimes good energy just filters its way into the game and positive results happen,” Johnson said. “I think the whole time we were committed to the schemes that we wanted to do, and in the second half we executed them better.”

Johnson has been in excellent form, averaging 23.4 points over his past nine games, including a 33-point outing in Toronto on Dec. 19.

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Injury Updates and Rotational Adjustments

The Nets have played three straight games without Dorian Finney-Smith, who is dealing with a bruised left calf. Noah Clowney stepped up with 20 points in his absence, and Finney-Smith might return on Friday. Additionally, Ben Simmons could potentially play both ends of a back-to-back for the first time this season after logging 29 minutes in Milwaukee.

As the Spurs and Nets square off, both teams will look to build momentum amid challenging stretches, with Wembanyama and Johnson as focal points for their respective squads.