Wembanyama's return lifts Spurs past Thunder; Knicks advance to NBA Cup final

In the desert city of Las Vegas, two basketball narratives converged on a single weekend: the return of a generational talent from injury, and the relentless march of a New York team rediscovering its identity. Victor Wembanyama's brief but luminous reappearance for San Antonio reminded the league that absence, like silence, only amplifies what was missing. Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson's 40-point performance carried the Knicks past Orlando with the kind of authority that suggests a team not merely winning games, but building toward something larger. Tuesday's NBA Cup final will ask which force is