SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama played against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night after being downgraded to questionable as he returns to full strength from a calf strain.
San Antonio entered the matchup against Oklahoma City on a six-game winning streak, including a 111-109 victory over the Thunder on Dec. 11 in the NBA Cup semifinals.
Wembanyama has played in five straight games, including the NBA Cup Final on Dec. 16, since missing 12 straight games with a left calf strain. San Antonio's 124-113 loss to the New York Knicks for the NBA Cup title does not count in the standings or statistics.
Wembanyama was downgraded to questionable on Monday by the Spurs as a precaution.
“Every day there is a question of preventative because he's not too far removed from an injury," Johnson said. "We have to be so mindful of that kid's future and bigger picture. And, we've had a lot of travel. He's had life going on and we're just trying to make sure that we have his best interest at heart regardless of winning streak and excitement and whatever else we are feeling at the time.”
Wembanyama has come off the bench since his return as his minutes are restricted as he recovers from the calf strain.
He is averaging career-highs in points (24.4) and rebounds (12.3) a season after earning his first All-Star selection. The 21-year-old from France is also averaging 3.7 assists and 3.3 blocks in 31.1 minutes.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — A thunderous explosion Tuesday at a nursing home just outside Philadelphia killed at least two people, collapsed part of the building, sent fire shooting out and left people trapped inside, authorities said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news conference several hours after the explosion that at least two had been killed after emergency responders braved the flames, a heavy odor of gas and a second explosion to evacuate residents and employees.
Fire officials said they were in “rescue mode” five hours later, with responders still digging by hand and using search dogs, earth-moving equipment and sonar to locate potential victims.
The explosion happened at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak.
A plume of black smoke rose from the nursing home, as emergency responders, fire trucks and ambulances from across the region rushed there, joined by earthmoving equipment.
Authorities did not identify those who died and did not know the total number of those injured after residents and employees were evacuated to a number of different hospitals.
Shapiro asked his fellow Pennsylvanians to take a moment to pray “for this community, for those who are still missing, for those who are injured, and for those families who are about to celebrate Christmas with an empty chair at their table.”
The town's fire chief, Kevin Dippolito, said at the Tuesday evening news conference that there were five people still unaccounted for, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.
Dippolito described a chaotic rescue where firefighters found people stuck in stairwells and elevator shafts, and pulled residents out of the fiery building through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed section of building, he said.
Firefighters handed off patients to waiting police officers outside, including one “who literally threw two people over his shoulders,” Dippolito said. “It was nothing short of extraordinary.” A second explosion erupted during the rescue, he said.
Bucks County emergency management officials said they received the report of an explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m. and said a portion of the building was reported to have collapsed.
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud kaboom.”
“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.
He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping the building. The explosion looked like it happened in the kitchen area of the nursing home, he said. Tye said some of the people who live or work there didn’t make it out.
“Just got to keep praying for them,” Tye said.
Shapiro said a finding that the gas leak caused the explosion was preliminary.
The local gas utility, PECO, said its crews had responded to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home shortly after 2 p.m.
“While crews were on site, an explosion occurred at the facility. PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,” the utility said in a statement.
Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's went to the scene. Finding that the explosion was caused by a gas leak won’t be confirmed until the agency can examine the scene, a utility commission spokesperson said.
Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV/ABC 6 that, over the weekend, she and others there smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it to be anything.”
The 174-bed nursing home is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia. It is affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group, which said it was working with local emergency authorities. The facility had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.
The latest state inspection report for the facility was in October and the Pennsylvania Department of Health found that it was not in compliance with several state regulations.
The inspection report said the facility failed to provide an accurate set of floor plans and to properly maintain several stairways, including storing multiple paint buckets and a bed frame under landings.
It also said the facility failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of the three levels and failed to provide the required “smoke barrier partitions,” which are designed to contain smoke on two floors. It also said it didn’t properly store oxygen cylinders on two of three floors.
According to Medicare.gov, the facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. But Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.
Associated Press reporter Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report. Levy and Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer)
First responders work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Montgomery County search and rescue join first responders at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol Township, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
CORRECTS NAME OF FACILITY - First responders gather at the scene of an explosion at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
First responders gather at the scene of an explosion at Silver Lake Healthcare Center in Bristol Township, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
First responders are on the scene of a fire after an explosion at a nursing home in Bristol Township, Pa., on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)
