Mamukelashvili helped the Spurs to a 120–105 win over the Knicks. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m hoping we get at least one buzzer beater in today’s tournament games.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏀 Winners and sinners in Providence
There were 11 NBA games played on Wednesday night, and in those 11 games, eight players scored at least 30 points. The list includes some of the best players of this generation, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as budding stars like Evan Mobley and Paolo Banchero. It also includes Sandro Mamukelashvili.
If you said, “Who?” you’re probably not alone. Mamukelashvili has been a seldom-used bench player throughout his four-year NBA career. But the San Antonio Spurs’ big man had a career night—a historic night, even—in his team’s win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Mamukelashvili came off the bench and scored 34 points in just 19 minutes of action. He was an outrageous 13-of-14 from the floor and an unbelievable 7-of-7 from three while also collecting nine rebounds. The Spurs out-scored the Knicks by 22 points when he was on the floor and went on to win 120–105, just their fifth win in their past 15 games.
Mamukelashvili is the only player in NBA history to score 34 points in just 19 minutes of playing time, and just the fourth to score at least 30 in 19 minutes. (The NBA began tracking minutes played as a statistic in the 1974–75 season.)
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Mamukelashvili said. “I just can’t explain how I feel right now. I feel like I’m in a dream. I manifested and prayed for it. I just waited for this day. I really had an out of body experience for a little bit there. I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’”
It was easily the best game of Mamukelashvili’s career. Before Wednesday night, he’d only had four games in which he’d scored as many points as he has letters in his name (20). His previous career high was 28 points on April 10, 2022, when he played for the Milwaukee Bucks. That was the final game of the regular season, and the Bucks rested all their starters. To give you an idea of the kind of lineup the Bucks rolled out that day, Thanasis Antetokounmpo played 40 minutes and scored 27 points. Mamukelashvili’s next highest output was on April 9, 2023, also the final day of the regular season, when he scored 23 points. He also had 21 on April 12, 2024, the second-to-last day of last season.
Those are the kinds of opportunities Mamukelashvili has gotten as a pro. He’s played just 11 minutes per game for his career and averaged 4.9 points per game. He’s really only gotten to play serious minutes in games that don’t matter. He’s played at least 20 minutes in a game 33 times, out of 177 career games. Of those 33, 13 came in a 15-game stretch at the end of the 2022–23 season, when the Spurs were wrapping up a 22–60 campaign.
Mamukelashvili has been overlooked throughout his career. He was a three-star high school recruit who ended up playing four years with the Seton Hall Pirates before being selected at the tail end of the 2021 NBA draft (54th overall). He was on a two-way contract with the Bucks and was waived by Milwaukee in March of 2023, eventually being claimed by the Spurs. He re-signed with San Antonio last summer on a one-year deal for the league minimum ($2,087,519). As he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent again at the end of this season, games like Wednesday’s are the kind of performance that could earn him another NBA job.
Walter Clayton Jr. and the Florida Gators kick off their title charge on Friday with a first-round matchup against Norfolk State. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
… things I saw last night:
5. Nebraska first baseman Tyler Stone’s hidden ball trick to end an inning.
4. The innovative camera angles NBC Sports California used for the Kings-Cavs game.
3. Flava Flav’s cameo in Sandro Mamukelashvili’s postgame interview.
2. The Maple Leafs’ game-winning short-handed goal that was set up by the puck hitting a ref.
1. Cade Cunningham’s last-second game-winner for the Pistons against the Heat.
