SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama needed a fresh start after two frustrating losses so he decided to let it all go — his hair, that is.
Sporting a freshly shaved head courtesy of a teammate, Wembanyama overcame an injury scare to score 22 points and grab 10 rebounds Thursday night as San Antonio routed Milwaukee 119-101 to snap a two-game skid.
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a score in front of Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, visit following their NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, drives against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama reveals a freshly shaved head as he warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Wembanyama exited early in the first quarter after banging knees with Giannis Antetokounmpo but returned to even his career record against the Bucks center after four games.
It was a welcome change for Wembanyama and the Spurs after blowing a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter in falling 104-103 at Minnesota on Sunday followed by a 119-98 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
San Antonio forward Keldon Johnson deserves some credit for the change in fortunes as well as Wembanyama’s new style.
“I have been having this (shaving his head) in the back of my head for a little bit, and the fact that (Keldon) wanted to do it as well, it just convinced me,” Wembanyama said. “But I felt like we had to lock in real quick because we had been losing a little bit.”
The idea for new look began last week when Johnson announced he was planning to shave his head and tried to convince his teammates to join him.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle wasn’t about to shave his dreadlock high-top fade.
“They knew not to ask me,” Castle said. “I don’t got much for that one. It’s not going to happen.”
Not surprisingly, the young man who spent 10 days training with the Shaolin monks in Zhengzhou, China, this summer and played chess in Washington Square Park in New York City on a whim two years ago was all in.
Wembanyama opted to have Johnson shave his head Wednesday night rather than go to a professional barber.
“I mean, what can go wrong if the plan is to cut it all off,” Wembanyama said, chuckling.
Johnson is rarely at a standstill on the court or on the bench, but he reined in his energy while clipping Wembanyama.
“It took me a good little minute,” Johnson said. “I was trying to be cautious because he got hit (on the head against Oklahoma City). He had a knot on his head. So, I was trying to make sure everything’s smooth. Take my time. You know what I’m saying? I had to fade it up a little bit at first. Then I gave him a little bowl cut and we just went from there.”
Wembanyama returned the favor with the same precision he had in making 5 of 6 3-pointers on Thursday.
“He did good,” Johnson said. “He was quick with it. No lie. Vic probably took like three minutes. Boom, boom, boom, knocking down. Boom. I’m like, wow.”
The bald head represented a new start and it also brought a turn of fortune after a series of injuries for the 7-foot-4 center from France.
Wembanyama dropped to the court after making knee-to-knee contact with Antetokounmpo’s left leg under the Bucks basket with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court in pain for a few seconds before rising and hobbling unassisted in a half sprint toward the locker room.
The scene was eerily similar to Wembanyama limping off the court Dec. 31 after hyperextending his left knee in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks. He returned the bench to watch the closing minutes on New Year’s Eve but would miss the next two games.
On Thursday, Wembanyama returned to the bench at the close of the first quarter Thursday, but this time he went back on the court to start the second quarter.
“I did not think it was serious because it was just like a knee to knee,” Wembanyama said. “I’ve had this dozens of times, but never against a guy like this. So, that was a lot more than usual, but it’s thankfully a very benign thing.”
Wembanyama had an immediate impact that left the sellout crowd at the Frost Bank Center in awe like Johnson was after his trim.
Wembanyama opened with a reverse, two-handed push shot off the backboard off a high entry pass from Harrison Barnes.
Wembanyama added two rebounds, a block and back-to-back 3-pointers in a 42-second span, including banking in a 25-footer from the top of the key midway through the second quarter.
Wembanyama had 11 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot while playing 12 minutes, 27 seconds in the second quarter.
He did not play in the fourth quarter as the Spurs lead ballooned to 37 points late in the third.
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a score in front of Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, visit following their NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, left, drives against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama reveals a freshly shaved head as he warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, and in recent months he threatened to use it for immigration protests.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities asked for the assistance.
“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.
The operation grew when ICE, which is a DHS agency, sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area in early January.
Protesters gathered Thursday night at the federal building that is being used as a base for the crackdown, yelling “shame on you” at the officers guarding the facility.
Demonstrations have become common since Good was fatally shot Jan. 7, but this night's protest was slightly more subdued a day after the governor and mayor implored protesters to remain peaceful.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.
Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.
The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.
St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.
Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.
Madhani reported from Washington, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Bill Barrow in Atlanta, Rebecca Santana in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
