Victor Wembanyama sat out the second half after sustaining bruised ribs, but Stephon Castle led a balanced attack with a 19-point triple-double, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 115-102 on Monday night.

Wembanyama was inadvertently struck by an elbow in the midsection from Paul George early in the second quarter and was subbed out at the next stoppage, quickly heading down the tunnel to get examined by the team’s medical staff.

The 7-foot-4 Frenchman returned to play five more minutes in the second quarter but headed to the locker room with 44 seconds remaining in the half and was ruled out shortly thereafter.

Wembanyama has openly campaigned to be voted league MVP in recent weeks, but he could end up ineligible for the award if he misses some of the Spurs’ remaining games.

San Antonio’s next game is a home date against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Including Monday, Wembanyama has played 63 official games this season, plus the NBA Cup championship, and will need to log at least 20 minutes in one of the Spurs’ final three games to meet the 65-game minimums for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA consideration.

Wembanyama finished Monday’s game with 17 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in 16 minutes.

With their superstar ailing, the Spurs turned to Castle, who finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the team in all three categories.

Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson and Luke Kornet each scored in double figures as San Antonio’s bench outscored Philadelphia’s 50-18.

With the win, the Spurs (60-19) clinched their first 60-win season since 2016-17 and remained mathematically within reach of the 62-16 Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the West.

With the loss, Philadelphia (43-36) dropped a half-game back of the sixth-place Toronto Raptors and into a play-in tournament slot.

Joel Embiid finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds, going 16 for 19 from the free-throw line.

Jokić, Nuggets rally again for OT win

Nikola Jokić produced another impressive triple-double, and the Denver Nuggets rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 137-132 in overtime for their ninth consecutive win.

Monday’s win was strikingly similar to Saturday's high-profile victory over the San Antonio Spurs, in which the Nuggets trailed by 13 before forcing overtime and extending their winning streak.

Aaron Gordon made two key jumpers down the stretch of regulation to give Denver a late lead, but Deni Avdija got to the rim for a game-tying layup with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Jokić missed at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime, but he and Jamal Murray either scored or assisted on every Denver field goal in the extra frame.

Jokić finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists while also adding five steals and two blocked shots.

Gordon scored 23 points, and Murray had 20, as the Nuggets (51-28) moved a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for third place in the West.

Toumani Camara led the Blazers with 30 points and made eight of Portland’s franchise-record 25 3-pointers. Avdija finished with 26 points and seven assists.

Grizzlies tie 3-point record but Cavs win

Evan Mobley scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and the Cleveland Cavaliers got a key 142-126 win over the Grizzlies, despite Memphis tying an NBA record by making 29 3-pointers.

With the victory, Cleveland clinched a top-four seed in the East playoffs and home-court advantage in the first round.

All nine Memphis players who played hit at least one 3-pointer, as the Grizzlies joined the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks and last season's Boston Celtics in the NBA record books.

Adama Bal and Dariq Whitehead each made six 3-pointers off the bench, while Lucas Williamson converted five. The Grizzlies finished 29 of 59 (49.2%) from deep.

Despite being outscored 87-36 from the 3-point arc, the Cavs won with dominance inside, scoring 76 points in the paint to Memphis’ 30. Cleveland also won the rebounding battle 48-31 and attempted 27 more free throws than the Grizzlies.

Cleveland (50-29) got to the 50-win milestone for the third time in the last four seasons and remained a game behind the New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed in the East.