Victor Wembanyama collected 30 points and 11 rebounds as part of a successful homecoming, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 140-110 drubbing of the Indiana Pacers on Thursday afternoon in Paris.
Wembanyama, a Frenchman who also got to play in his native country this past summer at the Paris Olympics, rounded out his complete performance with six assists and five blocks. Nine of his points, six of his boards and four of his rejections came in the third quarter, where San Antonio outscored Indiana 45-23 to virtually put the game away.
The Spurs carried a 105-80 lead into the fourth and never let the Pacers get their deficit below 18 over the final 12 minutes of play. Wembanyama even toyed with Indiana a bit, throwing down a dunk at the 10:11 mark of the fourth by tossing a pass to himself off the glass.
Devin Vassell supplied 25 points, Harrison Barnes finished with 20 and Jeremy Sochan posted 13 to go along with nine rebounds for San Antonio, which was lethal from beyond the arc (18-for-36) and overcame 20 turnovers.
Bennedict Mathurin went for 24 points in the loss. Pascal Siakam chipped in 18 points and six assists for Indiana, Myles Turner netted 14 points and Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin each had 13.
The Spurs outshot the Pacers 60.4 percent to 45.4 percent from the field in the rout.
San Antonio opened the third quarter on a 20-10 run to pull away for an 80-67 advantage, with Wembanyama and Barnes combining for 15 points during the Spurs’ outburst. San Antonio kept rolling from there.
Wembanyama quickly looked right at home, scoring 10 points in the first quarter to help San Antonio grab a 30-29 lead after 12 minutes of action.
Indiana rattled off the first six points of the second quarter before Wembanyama used a nifty dribble move to free himself in the lane for a dunk. The Spurs later used a 10-2 run to go up 47-43 with 4:47 left in the frame.
That was the most either team led by for the remainder of what was a tight first half, and San Antonio held a 60-57 edge at the break.
A rematch between the teams is scheduled for Saturday in Paris.
–Field Level Media
