Victor Wembanyama amassed 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 116-96 win on Monday night over the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento was playing the second game of a road back-to-back and was worse for wear in the second half when the Kings were outscored by San Antonio 56-41.
The Spurs expanded a five-point lead at halftime to 13 points with a stirring third-quarter run and didn’t allow the Kings to get back into the game. Despite San Antonio’s lead, both teams played their starters into the final minutes, with Wembanyama wrapping up his stellar evening with a putback dunk with 58 seconds to play.
He was 13 of 22 from the field, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range, and made both free throws. Wembanyama added six assists, three blocks and one steal.
Julian Champagnie added 13 points for the Spurs, with Devin Vassell and Chris Paul hitting for 12 each, Keldon Johnson scoring 11 and Harrison Barnes and Stephon Castle tallying 10 apiece. Paul also had 11 assists.
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 24 points while Domantas Sabonis racked up 23 points and 11 boards and DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points.
Malik Monk, the Kings’ stellar sixth man, did not suit up after injuring his right ankle in an OT win at Phoenix on Sunday.
The Spurs built a five-point edge at the 6:22 mark of the first quarter on a Castle 3-pointer before Sacramento answered, leapfrogging to the front at 21-20 when Sabonis scored on a running layup with 2:57 remaining in the period. The Kings led 26-22 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Sacramento stoked its advantage to nine points early in the second quarter, but the Spurs swung back, retaking the lead at 37-36 when Wembanyama canned a 3-pointer with 7:38 to play in the period. The lead switched hands three times over the remaining minutes of the half until San Antonio reeled off a 5-0 run to garner a 60-55 edge at the break.
Wembanyama’s 16 points led all scorers at halftime while Barnes added 10 for the Spurs. Sabonis had 12 points for Sacramento, with DeRozan hitting for 11.
San Antonio led by four points a minute and a half into the third before ripping off a 10-0 run culminated by Champagnie’s layup with 6:40 to play in the period. Wembanyama made a driving layup with 57 seconds remaining to give the Spurs an 84-71 advantage heading into the final quarter.
–Field Level Media
