The Spurs blew out the Kings in the first game of a back-to-back to get their second win of the season and get back to .500. Victor Wembanyama had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks, while Julian Champagnie contributed 26 points off the bench.
An ideal start, with Wembanyama getting a couple of early dunks and Vassell an open three, foreshadowed how easy the game was going to be for the Spurs. The only thing that could keep the Silver and Black from scoring was themselves, in the stretches in which
they played too much one-on-one basketball in the half court. The Kings’ defense had no answers, as helping inside resulted in open threes and not helping meant allowing good shots at the rim, but credit should go to San Antonio for taking the game seriously and executing well while also guarding with intensity.
As the minutes went by, and despite Domantas Sabonis’ efforts to stop it (at least on offense), the eight-point lead the Spurs had at the end of the first quarter started to grow steadily. Wembanyama was getting whatever he wanted inside, and the outside looks were falling. The shorthanded Kings couldn’t put together enough good lineups when their main guys rested to score enough to offset their glaring deficiencies on the other end. At the break, San Antonio was up 26 points after dropping 80 in total, and the game was effectively over.
The only thing left to be decided was whether the Spurs would be able to avoid a slump that forced Mitch Johnson to play his starters more than he wanted in the first game of a back-to-back. The answer was a resounding “yes,” as San Antonio kept playing hard and scoring at will. The Kings looked defeated, and while Zach LaVine poured in some tough buckets to make up for Sabonis slowing down on the offensive end, at no point did they look like a real threat. After three, the lead was 27.
The fourth quarter was garbage time. Only Dylan Harper played more than 30 minutes for San Antonio, which got to empty its bench early while securing an easy home win.
Observations:
- The Kings, missing several frontcourt players, simply have too many bad defenders to make any coverage work. The zone was a mess. Their switching was sloppy. The rotations were slow. They don’t have the rim protection to make the drop in the pick-and-roll work. Even some lineups that shouldn’t have worked on offense for the Spurs were able to put points on the board. The talent gap was just gigantic.
- Julian Champagnie made eight threes in the first half. His only misses were airballs. The “Champagnie has the hot hand” experience is amazing in part because it tends to feature some hilarious moments in which he gets so confident that he lets it fly, you think it’s going in, and it’s not even close. Then the next time around you prepare for a miss, and he swishes a tough look. He’s been such a fantastic find for the Spurs.
- Are the Spurs winning more challenges than in past years? It feels that way, and the broadcast made it a point to highlight the two successful ones from this game, so there’s probably some numbers to back it up. Every little thing helps, so if they have become better at challenging calls, that’s great.
- At the end of the third, when the rotation guys were on the floor, the Spurs’ bench was outscoring the Kings’ 30 to five. Even taking away Champagnie’s 24 points, they would have been up in that category. Sacramento is bad, but missing some important guys makes them awful.
- Devin Vassell finished with eight assists, the highest total in a game for him since the 2023/24 season. In the previous game, he had six helpers. Vassell has been adding to his game since he was drafted. Maybe this is the year he becomes a great passer for someone whose main role is to shoot.
- Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. is an exciting player taking full advantage of the bright green light he has in Sacramento. It took him 20 shots, but he finished with 19 points and five assists.
- It’s hard to take much away from games that are so lopsided, but it was good to see the Spurs play with effort and purpose even when up big. Hopefully that mindset will become a staple of the team this season.
For the opponent’s perspective, visit The Kings’ Herald.
The Spurs will fly to Utah to face the Jazz on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back. Utah will be without Jaren Jackson Jr., who is expected to miss up to eight weeks with an injury. It’s a good opportunity for San Antonio to secure a winning record for the first time this season.
