He was out there without a secondary ball handler, so he had to be on the ball a lot, and that was taxing. I thought he handled it well,” Redick added.The Lakers improved to 10-2 at the top of the Western Conference as Atlanta fell to 7-5.The San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, maintained their hot pursuit of the Lakers in the West, extending their winning streak to nine games after blowing out the Phoenix Suns 122-96 on the road to improve to 9-2.Spurs star Victor Wembanyama – fresh from a career-high 52-point performance last week – was once again in dazzling form, dropping 40 points with 11 rebounds, eight blocks and three assists in a dominant victory.“There’s a lot of good going on, obviously,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama’s rich vein of recent form.“I think he’s allowing the game to unfold naturally, and he’s doing a great job of putting himself in positions to take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of him.
And his teammates are doing a good job of utilising him when appropriate.”Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks the ball during the game against the Phoenix Suns [Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images via AFP]The Golden State Warriors kept their own winning streak alive on Monday, thrashing the New Orleans Pelicans 138-87 to record their eighth consecutive victory.Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski scored 25 points apiece while rookie sensation Yaxel Lendeborg added 23 as the Warriors improved to 8-3.In other games on Monday, the Detroit Pistons improved to 7-3 with a 122-111 defeat of the Washington Wizards after 24 points from John Collins.The Memphis Grizzlies are also on 7-3 after their 118-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, stumbled to a 124-112 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.In Houston, Jamal Murray scored 38 points for the Denver Nuggets, but it was not enough to stop the Rockets from claiming a 110-100 victory.Kevin Durant scored 23 points, and Alperen Sengun added 20 as the Rockets halted their two-game losing streak.