Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs stun Denver Nuggets to set up historic three-way tie for West top seed

The Denver Nuggets suffered a shock defeat to the San Antonio Spurs, while the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves won to create a three-way tie in the Western Conference.

The remaining games played on Sunday afternoon will be the final chance to separate the three leading lights of the conference ahead of the playoffs.

NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama put on a dominant display with 34 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the reigning champions.

The Nuggets were coming off the back of a midweek win against the Timberwolves to head the standings but a late winner from the Spurs’ Devonte Graham with less than a second remaining meant they let their position slip with a 121-120 loss.

"It's disappointing. I mean, really disappointing," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the match. "We controlled our own destiny and what we accomplished on Wednesday night, we just gave it right back, you know what I mean?"

The Nuggets’ final regular season game is at the Memphis Grizzlies. The Thunder welcome the Dallas Mavericks, and Timberwolves are at home to the Phoenix Suns. The Nuggets need both their rivals to lose if they are to top the table.

"It's easy to get up from Minnesota," Malone added. "I mean, our guys were locked in, they were focused, they were serious. And I don't think we had the same approach for tonight's game. You had a chance to get the one seed and now obviously we'll likely be the 3-seed.

"End of the day, no matter what seed we are, we know what we're capable of. And we got one more game. Let's try to finish it up right in Memphis and prepare for the first round."

After 81 games, the NBA has never produced such a tight finish to a regular season.

Oklahoma City Thunder moved closer to holding the No. 1 spot at the end of the season with a 125-107 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Thunder coach Mark Daigneault did not go overboard when he learned of the Nuggets’ defeat, saying: "I don't really have much of a reaction. We've got to run through the finish line."

The Timberwolves were the winners with a 109-106 win against the Atlanta Hawks. For the Wolves, Rudy Gobert scored 25 and provided 19 rebounds but not a single assist.

Mike Conley produced 13 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while Jaden McDaniels and Karl-Anthony Towns both scored 11 points. Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker all reached double figures too.

In a busy night of basketball the LA Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 123-120, with fellow Californians, the Golden State Warriors falling 114-109 to the New Orleans Pelicans as their poor season continued.

Another Los Angeles side, the LA Clippers, fell 110-109 to the Utah Jazz, the Detroit Pistons crushed the Dallas Mavericks 107-89, the Houston Rockets beat the Trail Blazers 116-107, and the Phoenix Suns edged past the Sacramento Kings 108-107.

The impressive Boston Celtics demolished the Charlotte Hornets 131-98, the Toronto Raptors lost 125-103 to the Miami Heat.

Elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers came off second best in a 129-120 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards 129-127, and the Orlando Magic lost 125-113 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Finally, an all New York tie saw the Knicks defeat the Brooklyn Nets 111-107.

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