Short rest on the second game of a back-to-back is no issue when the game ends in the first half. The San Antonio Spurs rolled into Sacramento after a tough game with the Los Angeles Clippers the night prior. The Spurs thoroughly and utterly dominated the Kings in a blowout 132-104 victory.
San Antonio took a 78-47 lead in the first half, effectively ending the game after the second quarter. The Spurs were able to go deep into their bench against a Sacramento team that was without key players like
Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Keegan Murray. The shorthanded Kings didn’t provide much defensive resistance against the Spurs, allowing them to get to the basket or take open looks all night long.
The Spurs were red hot from three, shooting 25-49 from deep. It was the most single-game three-pointers made in franchise history. Everyone got in on the fun, as ten different Spurs hit a three-pointer. San Antonio shot 52% from the field overall. The Kings had a solid offensive game despite their defensive woes, shooting 44% from the field and 38% from deep. Interestingly enough, the Kings actually outscored the Spurs in the paint 48-40.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block in the win. His French counterpart on the Kings, Maxime Raynaud, had a game-high 32 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
The Spurs improve to 51-18 with the win. Next, they’ll head back to San Antonio for a matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Observations
- Stephon Castle put up a stat line that Chris Paul would be proud of. He had 3 points, 12 assists, and 0 turnovers. His only made basket came on a spot-up three-pointer. Castle’s evolution this season has been fun to see. He’s distributing the ball at a high level, cutting down on turnovers, and shooting the ball better from deep.
- Harrison Barnes stepped into the starting lineup in place of Devin Vassell, who is dealing with some ankle soreness. Barnes was on fire, going 4-5 from three on his way to 16 points. Getting him going before the playoffs would be extremely beneficial for their title chances.
- We caught a glimpse of what Dylan Harper could become on Tuesday. He, of course, did damage around the basket like he usually does, but he also knocked down 3-5 three-pointers. He made some nice step-back moves that led to mid-range jumpers. He has all of the tools to become a good three-level scorer, and showed a lot of them against the Kings. Harper had 15 points and 5 assists in the win.
- It was an “old-friend” game for both teams. DeMar DeRozan and Doug McDermott faced their former squad in the Spurs, and De’Aaron Fox and Barnes had significant stretches of their careers in Sacramento. McDermott looked just like he did when he was in San Antonio, flying off screens and hitting threes. He had 12 points on 4-8 shooting from three. Fox was great in limited minutes, scoring 15 points and tossing 6 assists.
- Every single player on the Spurs roster who logged a minute scored a point. Bismack Biyombo knocked down a free throw late in the game to solidify the feat. Mason Plumlee was the only Spur not to play on Tuesday night.
