Three days’ rest is abnormal in the modern NBA, but it’s exactly where the San Antonio Spurs found themselves on Sunday night. The Spurs hit the road for a west coast road trip that began in Sacramento for a matchup with the Kings. San Antonio showed a bit of rust from all that rest early but surged back in the final three quarters to secure a 127-125 win over the Sacramento Kings to improve to 11-9 on the season.
The Spurs found themselves in a 42-28 hole in the first quarter thanks to a hot start from the Kings. Sacramento was physical on both ends and found a load of open shots as San Antonio struggled to defend them. The Kings shot 70% from the field and 44% from three in the first quarter.
“I didn’t feel much physicality or resistance on defense – they are obviously a talented team, but we could have done a better job making them work for some stuff,” Spurs’ coach, Mitch Johnson, told reporters after the game. “We picked it up in the second and fourth quarters, and it was a big difference.”
San Antonio rode an offensive burst in the next quarter to get back into the game. Julian Champagnie got hot from three, and Victor Wembanyama came alive in the second quarter. Champagnie hit four threes in the game, scoring 19 points overall. The Spurs got a big boost offensively from the three-point line, where they hit 23 shots, a new franchise record.
San Antonio was led by their superstar from deep. Wembanyama hit five threes on his way to his third-career triple-double. He had 34 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 blocks in the win. He was a force defensively and hit huge shots down the stretch that kept the Spurs in front.
The Kings did everything they could to keep up with the Spurs scoring barrage, especially inside. They outscored San Antonio 30-8 in the paint in the first half and 52-28 throughout the game. Sacramento out-rebounded the Spurs 51-38 and had a whopping 21 offensive rebounds. Despite winning the physical battle, the Kings couldn’t overcome the Spurs’ shotmaking, as they hit 51.2% from the field and 50% from three. Sacramento was led in scoring by DeMar DeRozan with 28 points.
San Antonio trailed for most of the game until the fourth quarter. The Kings picked up their fifth foul with 8 minutes left in the game, and the Spurs took advantage. San Antonio was 20-24 from the free throw line, hitting the shots they needed to late in the game.
“I thought our fouling was unfortunate,” said Kings’ head coach, Mike Brown.
The Spurs got great performances from their bench in the fourth. Devin Vassell showed off his shot-creating ability on his way to 21 points on an efficient 8-12 shooting from the field. Tre Jones caused havoc on the defensive end, finishing the game with 2 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 7 points. Jones left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury after Domantas Sabonis hit him with a hard screen. Keldon Johnson made big plays in the game’s closing moments, including a huge offensive rebound (courtesy of a tip from Wembanyama) that sealed the game. Johnson had 17 off the bench.
When the game was on the line, the Spurs went to the pick-and-roll with Chris Paul and Wembanyama. Paul hit what eventually became the dagger on a huge pull-up three in the last minutes of the game. He had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. The veteran has been essential to the team’s late-game success. The Spurs are now 5-3 in clutch games this season.
San Antonio will finish its road trip with a crucial NBA Cup matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. If the Spurs win that game, they’ll win their group and advance to the elimination round of the Cup.
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