With the Spurs on a six-game win streak and the Kangz being, well, the Kangz, the good guys unsurprisingly walked away with a 124-109 victory on Friday night.
Both sides traded blows from the tip, energized to play their first NBA Cup match of the season. It didn’t take long, though, for San Antonio to pull ahead, as the guards took advantage of Sacramento’s lack of interior defense (or defense, period), to drive to the basket or lob it up to Wemby for easy dunks. However, in typical Spurs fashion,
they took their foot off the gas and let the Kings go on a mini run to get back in the game. Soon after, San Antonio became more intentional with their offensive sets, running some nice plays that used Vassell’s gravity and passing ability to find open cutters. The Spurs reasserted their dominance in the game.
Still, Wemby had a fall just before halftime that made everyone hold their breath. The big fella landed on Domantas Sabonis’ foot on his way down from shooting a three, grabbing his ankle while rolling on the court. He appeared to be in quite some discomfort and stayed down for a minute before walking to the Spurs bench on his own power, seemingly able to shake it off. It marked the end of a dominant first half for the Alien, as he finished with 19 points in two quarters alone.
Thankfully, Wemby’s extraterrestrial abilities seem to have extended to his healing abilities. He started the second half and was no worse for wear, although the two teams came out flat to start the third. The offense on both ends was sloppy and stagnant, forcing Mitch Johnson to call a timeout when the Kings cut the lead down to 14. The message was heard once again; the good guys locked back in and began moving the ball more, finding open shooters who converted on their free looks. Garbage time began early in the fourth, with both teams emptying their benches. San Antonio cruised to a comfortable 124-109 victory, securing their first NBA Cup win of the season.
Game notes
- Wemby finished the night after logging just 26 minutes, putting up a dominant stat line of 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks. After a slow start to the season, he’s playing arguably the best basketball of his career in the last two weeks, and this might be a sign that he’s leveling up even more. The ankle is something that should be monitored, though, as swelling often happens in the days after the initial injury. Wemby had a similar-looking ankle roll in his rookie season that forced him to miss a few games after finishing the contest in which the injury occurred.
- The Spurs were fortunate that they played Sacramento, allowing Wemby to play fewer minutes after his ankle tweak. Remember, point differential counts in the NBA Cup, so teams oftentimes play their stars big minutes even if a win is guaranteed. San Antonio sits second in Group C following Friday’s victory, as their +15 differential is just behind Golden State’s +17.
- The game was so out of reach that the backups’ backups got some playing time. Carter Bryant, David Jones Garcia, and Tarris Reed all checked in with 3 minutes to go. Barnesy had a hot shooting night too, pouring in 11 points in under 20 minutes of action. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I do wonder if Mitch should’ve stuck with the usual backups. San Antonio was up by over 20 points before the third stringers checked in, and they might’ve finished with a higher point differential than Golden State’s had they stuck with the second unit.
- The Kornet minutes remain an issue, even against the Kangz. The veteran finished as a -10 in just 18 minutes, while Wemby was a +31 in 26 minutes. I’m honestly not sure which stat is more impressive.
Play of the game
It’s just the Kangz, Steph! They’re already dead!
Next game: @ Blazers on Saturday
The Spurs will look to make it 8 in a row as they face off against the hot 6-1 Blazers on Saturday. Tip-off is once again at 9pm CST (sigh).
