Sacramento at San Antonio, Final Score: Kings overpower Spurs, 140-113

The defense was a letdown for the second night in a row

The Spurs, minus Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and Tre Jones, failed to make amends for refusing to defend against the Chicago Bulls in a losing effort against the Kings.

In the first quarter, Chris Paul controlled the pace and the extra effort on offense was palpable. The Silver and Black recovered four offensive rebounds and Julian Champagnie plus Keldon Johnson scored on all of them.

But the defense was problematic early on and weak at protecting the arc, getting torched for four of eight 3-pointers. On top of that, De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis got loose for three field goals apiece.

Through 12 minutes, the match was tied at 33 points

Then the Spurs’ protections were put on its heels further, conceding 36 points on 50 percent shooting because of an inability to stop the dribble or defend without fouling. The offense was almost as suspect, only producing on 38 percent of attempts.

At halftime, the Spurs were behind 69-59 on the scoreboard. The team had 24 paint points, six on the break, and 15 via second chances.

Next, the Spurs came out of the break overreacting to dribble moves, giving up a surplus of shots in the paint. Sabonis scored four baskets in the restricted, getting free off the ball. Sacramento’s Malik Monk and Fox also combined for six of 14 baskets from mid-range and below.

On offense, Castle and Harrison Barnes were the only Spurs to make multiple field goals. The rest of the team made five of 14 shots in the period.

The fourth quarter started with the Spurs down 14 points. Sochan provided two shots on a post-up and rolled to the rim, but the group was never able to recover because it couldn’t blow up Sacramento’s actions, giving up 14 of 20 shots in the last 12 minutes.

The Spurs lost 140-113. The team had 48 paint points, 15 on the break and 19 via second chances.

Observations

• Castle got lots of time guarding Fox, Sacramento’s top player. Even when he was in the right position, his counterpart scored on him at close and long range. Additionally, Fox used many screens to get him switched off. On one play, Castle intercepted a pass, sparking a Spurs fast break on which Julian Champagnie scored. He got to run the offense when Paul sat, and did a nice job of making the right reads after beating his defender on the dribble. But he was not a strong finisher, missing three shots in the lane. His two best sequences of the night was ripping a defensive rebound and going coast to coast for a layup, and connecting with Sochan for a lob through contact in the third quarter.
• Zach Collins’ insolence got himself ejected. First, he complained about picking up his third foul against Sabonis at the rim. Then he barked the F word at one of the officials on his way to the sideline. He should know better. Role players can’t talk like that, and his team needed him on the frontline without Wemby.
• Charles Bassey threw his weight around, defending the paint, registering multiple blocks, including one that sparked a fastbreak score by Johnson. He and Sandro Mamukelashvili played longer than anyone expected because of Collins’ ejection. Still, they were not enough to stop Sabonis, who looked like he was dealing with lightweights.
• The defense in the second quarter was so poor, it allowed the Kings to convert nine of 16 baskets, and fouled so much, they were punished with 14 opponent free throws. The Kings only made 22 of 24 free throws for the game.
• Jeremy Sochan did not continue his double-double streak, finishing the game with 14 points on five of 10 shots, with five rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. Still, he did well moving off the ball and had to cover Fox after switches.
• San Antonio’s bench was superior in the first half, outscoring Sacramento’s 29-16. Johnson was the lead reserve, logging double figures in the first quarter. He scored by attacking the basket on the break and in the half-court. In the second half, the Spurs’ bench was outscored by eight points.
• The Kings’ speed on the dribble was one of the main ingredients that exposed the 3-point line. The Spurs have to do a better job of playing one-on-one defense and contest on time after the opponent’s pass.