NBA Best Bets Today: Spurs, 76ers and Lakers Highlight Friday's Picks

Victor Wembanyama just put together a memorable performance that will still stand out on his personal accomplishments’ ledger at the end of his career.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama had career highs of 52 points and 24 rebounds and also blocked eight shots in a superlative outing in the San Antonio Spurs’ 112-111 home win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Bob McAdoo of the then-Buffalo Braves in 1974 is the only other player to put up a 50/20/5 statline (52 points, 22 rebounds and seven blocked shots) since blocks became an official stat in the 1973-74 campaign.

Wilt Chamberlain – of course, he’s involved in nearly impressive record – reportedly also achieved it prior to the starting of blocked shots being recorded. Meanwhile, Wemby will look to post another strong outing when the Spurs visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday night in NBA Cup play.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS AT SACRAMENTO KINGS

The Spurs have employed Hall of Fame big men such as David Robinson and Tim Duncan but Wembanyama is the first player in franchise history to ever have 50 points and 20 rebounds in the same game. Wemby and the Spurs arrive in Sacramento having won six straight games and point guard De’Aaron Fox surely will want to have a solid game against the team he spent 7 1/2 seasons with before being dealt to the Spurs during the 2024-25 campaign.

Fox only had 11 points when San Antonio routed the visiting Kings 130-103 on Oct. 27. Wembanyama had 29 points and 10 rebounds while Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis was solid with 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Sabonis is averaging 15.1 points, an NBA-best 14.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists but the Kings are floundering and have lost seven of their first eight games.

Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had 22 points and 12 assists on Wednesday but Sacramento lost 116-103 to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings are hoping that Acuff (25.6 points, 7.0 assists per game) will eventually cause their fans to forget that they once had both Tyrese Haliburton and Fox on their team and ended up with neither.

Teams to score over 228.5 points, -114

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS AT CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Wemby has turned LeBron James’ latest visit to Cleveland as a secondary attraction on Friday’s calendar. James passed on a third stint with the Cavaliers during the offseason and is now part of the star-studded 76ers. He is Philadelphia’s fourth-leading scorer at 15.7 points and leads in assists (7.4) while also collecting 7.4 rebounds per game.

Tyrese Maxey is averaging 28.0 points with Philadelphia off to an 8-1 start. Offseason acquisition Jaylen Brown is contributing 21.8 points per game while holdover star Joel Embiid is averaging 19.6 points and 10.0 rebounds as the 76ers have quickly established a team-first environment and won their past five games.

The Cavaliers just dropped both ends of a home-and-home with the Oklahoma City Thunder and are just 4-4. Backcourt stars Donovan Mitchell (22.5) and James Harden (16.6) are both playing below established forms and Harden is shooting at a career-low rate (37.9%).

76ers minus 2.5-points spread, -112

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS AT LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Luka Doncic leads the league with a 38.5 scoring average and has scored 40 or more in five of his last six appearances, including an even 40 in a 116-103 win over the host Kings on Wednesday. Doncic has made at least six 3-pointers in each of those games. His top scoring effort was 52 points during a win over the Utah Jazz on Oct. 25.

Doncic scored 41 points against the Trail Blazers on Oct. 27 in Los Angeles but Portland won the contest 136-129. The Trail Blazers shot 59% from the field and made 18 of 36 from 3-point range and they scored more than 30 points in every quarter.

Portland was expected to be an improved team but who saw a 6-1 start out of the gate? The Trail Blazers lost point guard Ja Morant (hamstring) but have won three straight games to start this current four-game road trip. They beat the Phoenix Suns 132-119 on Wednesday as Damian Lillard scored 25 for his fifth 20-point effort of the season.

Lakers minus -2.5 points spread, -115 (DraftKings)