Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama
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Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama had a tremendous battle on January 17, 2026 in San Antonio.
Two of the NBA’s biggest stars, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards, had an amazing duel on Saturday. The San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves to earn their 29th win of the season.
Wembanyama had 39 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 30 minutes to lead the Spurs to a 126-123 win. Edwards, on the other hand, registered a career high of 55 points, going 19-for-33 from the field and knocking down nine 3-point shots.
The two superstars exchanged baskets in the last five minutes of the game. Wembanyama had a chance to ice the game at the free-throw line with a second remaining. He purposely missed the second shot, but it was called for a violation.
It didn’t matter since Edwards missed the last-second heave at the buzzer.
NBA Refs Missed Call on Wembanyama
With the San Antonio Spurs up 120-119 in the final minute of the fourth quarter, the referees didn’t call a foul on Victor Wembanyama. He made contact with Joan Beringer before blocking his shot and regaining possession of the ball.
According to the NBA’s official L2M report, the officials in the game made an incorrect non-call.
“Wembanyama (SAS) moves laterally into Beringer’s (MIN) path and initiates illegal body contact after his gather, which affects Beringer’s shot attempt. The illegal body contact occurs prior to the contact with the ball,” the report stated.
If the referees made the call, Beringer would have been sent to the free-throw line. He could have knocked down both shots to give the Minnesota Timberwolves a one-point lead.
Beringer was shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe this season, so there was a huge chance for him to have made those two shots. Nevertheless, the referees missed the call, as Keldon Johnson made a 3-point shot to give the Spurs a four-point advantage.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was called for a technical foul after arguing the non-call against Beringer, though Wembanyama missed the bonus shot.
It became a free-throw game in the end, with the Spurs escaping with a big victory.
Wembanyama, Edwards Exchanged Kind Words After Game
Speaking to reporters after the game, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards couldn’t help but admire each other’s work. Edwards went ahead and called Wembanyama the face of the league.
The French superstar doesn’t mind the title, but it’s all about competition and respect. He loved going back-and-forth with Edwards, who had the best scoring game of his career.
“It’s an honor, and it’s the best thing to have the best players go as hard as they can because, first of all, it makes us better; it makes me better. And it’s a show of respect and also progress stepping up because now the standings make us that we’re a respectable team,” Wembanyama said, via Spectrum News San Antonio.
Meanwhile, Edwards couldn’t help but notice Wemby’s increased muscle mass, making him harder to push on the defensive end.
“He actually done put on a lot of weight. Looking at him from last year and this year, I was trying to box him out, he done put on a lot of weight. I can see from a distance that he has worked. I can’t do nothing but respect that,” Edwards said.
Saturday’s game was the third and final matchup of the season between the two teams. The Timberwolves won the season series, 2-1, but they could get matched up in the playoffs.