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Mikal Bridges (41 points), Victor Wembanyama (42) dazzle in Christmas Day classic

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Mikal Bridges (41 points), Victor Wembanyama (42) dazzle in Christmas Day classic

Victor Wembanyama turns in one of the great Christmas Day performances with 42 points and 18 rebounds.

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Mikal Bridges scored a season-high 41 points, and the New York Knicks overcame 42 from Victor Wembanyama in a monster Christmas debut to edge the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 on Wednesday.

Wembanyama set a Spurs’ record for points on the holiday and added 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. The reigning Western Conference player of the week made six 3-pointers.

But Bridges shot 17-for-25 from the field, 6-for-9 behind the arc, to make sure the Knicks had just enough offense to win their fifth in a row and improve to 20-10.

The two combined for a slew of impressive achievements:

• Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to post 40-plus points, 15-plus rebounds, five-plus 3-pointers and four-plus blocks in a game.

• Wembanyama became the third player to score 40-plus points in his Christmas debut, joining Wilt Chamberlain (45, 1959) and Tracy McGrady (43, 2000).

• Wembanyama became the first player to amass 40-plus points, 15-plus rebounds, and five-plus 3-pointers on Christmas Day.

• Bridges became the third Knick to score 40-plus points on Christmas Day, joining Bernard King (60, 1984) and Richie Guerin (40, 1961).

It also marked the third instance in NBA history that two opposing players scored 40-plus points on Christmas Day, joining Guerin (40) and Chamberlain (59) in 1961 and Oscar Robertson (40) and Elgin Baylor (40), also in 1961.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and nine rebounds, and Jalen Brunson scored 20 points. Josh Hart finished with 12 points, 12 boards and six assists.

Jeremy Sochan had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs.

San Antonio had a chance to pull out a terrific win but gave up 17 offensive rebounds and was unable to get its hands on the ball at the end, with Hart grabbing two misses in the final half-minute to run out the clock.

Bridges is often needed more for his defense than offense in his first season with the Knicks, but he reminded people on Wednesday just how good he can be with the ball in his hands.

The Spurs were within one point with two minutes to go after two free throws by Chris Paul before Bridges made consecutive jumpers for a five-point lead with 1:18 to play.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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