San Antonio vs. Sacramento, Final Score: Wembanyama shines in 116-96 win

Victor Wembanyama posts a season-high 34 points as the Spurs beat the Kings.

After losing a tough game against the Utah Jazz over the weekend, the San Antonio Spurs looked to start the new week off on the right foot. With the Sacramento Kings reeling on the second game of a back-to-back, the Spurs capitalized for a dominant 116-96 victory.

Victor Wembanyama had one of his best games of the season with 34 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. He was a deterrent all night in the paint, bothering shot after shot and causing the Kings to “nope” right out of shots at the rim. Offensively he was on fire, shooting 13-22 from the field and 6-12 from deep.

Wembanyama’s defensive effort was infectious. San Antonio’s defense smothered Sacramento, as the Kings shot 42.9% from the field and 27% from deep. The Spurs turned the ball over 18 times, allowing the Kings to score 26 points off their mistakes, but they made up for it with a hot shooting night. San Antonio shot 50.6% from the field and 47.8% from three.

The Spurs will face a pair of French phenoms in Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr when the Washington Wizards come to town on Wednesday the 13th.

Observations

• Stephon Castle is looking more and more comfortable with the NBA by the day. On Monday he had 10 points, 6 assists, and a steal. He looks strong and confident getting to the basket and is starting to hit enough threes to make the defense respect him from out there. His poise as a rookie shouldn’t surprise anyone who watched him at UCONN last season but is still quite rare for a first-year player.
• Wembanyama has made 6 three-pointers in his last two games. He’s generally shooting the ball better in San Antonio than on the road. Wemby is shooting 47.3% from the field and 37.5% from deep at home, while shooting 38% from the field and 20.5% from three on the road.
• Devin Vassell seems to be on a minutes restriction. He was subbed out late in the fourth quarter after playing 21 minutes, the same amount he played in his debut against Utah. Vassell had a hot stretch in the third quarter that propelled him to 12 points, including three deep balls.
• Sandro Mamukelashvili has provided a spark and some shooting off the bench. He had 9 points, all from deep, in his 16 minutes. He held his own defensively with some timely rotations and a few good isolation possessions against the Kings’ wings.
• Julian Champagnie played his 100th game for the Spurs on Monday. He now has the most three-pointers in his first 100 games, with 159, of any undrafted player in Spurs history. Gary Neal previously held the record with 153.
• Chris Paul finished with 12 points and 11 assists in the win. It’s his 4th points-assists double-double at the age of 39 or older. John Stockton has the record with 37 such games.