The San Antonio Spurs were shooting just 31.2% from the three-point line before their game against the Sacramento Kings. That percentage will increase after the Spurs shot 17-for-37 from three in a dominant 130-103 win over the Kings.
The Spurs were led by their sharpshooting wing, Julian Champagnie, who had 26 points, hitting 8 of his 13 threes.
Champagnie hit all eight of his threes in the first half. The Kings continued to leave him wide open
even after he hit a few easy shots. This play happened because the Kings’ zone defense broke down after Stephon Castle was able to occupy the middle of the court. Champagnie was wide open for a weak-side three-pointer.
Once Champagnie got going, he started to hit some high-difficulty shots. This one was particularly impressive, as he faded into the corner and hit the shot over Domantas Sabonis.
Champagnie’s shooting has been prolific with the Spurs. He tied his own franchise record for most three-pointers made in a half.
The Spurs also got quite a few good looks at the rim. Victor Wembanyama had 29 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the field. Most of those makes were dunks, and a lot of those slams came off lobs. The Spurs went to Wembanyama in the pick-and-roll early and often to get him easy dunks.
It was fairly obvious from the start of the game that the Kings were not defensively up to the task. They just lose the 7-foot-5 guy here as two defenders chase Castle on the drive, leading to an easy dunk for Wembanyama.
Wembanyama didn’t just do it on lobs. He had several drives to the rim that led to dunks, like this pump fake and Statue of Liberty slam in the first quarter.
Wembanyama was active on the glass, grabbing ten rebounds, three of them offensive. This buzzer-beating tip-in gave the Spurs 80 first-half points.
Devin Vassell got in on the scoring fun, too. He had 14 points and hit four of his seven three-pointers. His shots came within the flow of the offense, like this kick-ahead three-pointer in transition.
The Kings were constantly sending two defenders at the ball, leaving players wide-open all over the floor. It’s probably why the Spurs were able to shoot 54% from the field in the win.
Perhaps the most impressive highlight of the night came from the “unc” himself, Harrison Barnes, who put Alex Karaban on a poster.
The Spurs will have another chance to scorch the nets and send home vicious dunks on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz.
