The first few minutes felt like a track meet tilted entirely in the Spurs\u2019 favor. Inside the friendly confines of the San Antonio Spurs\u2019 weekend home in Austin, the Silver and Black (or teal, orange, and pink) exploded out of the gates Saturday night, racing to an early double-digit lead and would route the Sacramento Kings 139-122 at the Moody Center to close out their week in the city they call weird.<\/p>\n
What began as a runaway turned into a test of focus before the Spurs ultimately slammed the door. The tone was set almost immediately by San Antonio\u2019s French phenom as Victor Wembanyama erased a pair of shots in the opening minutes, igniting the crowd and fueling an 11-0 run that had Sacramento scrambling. The Spurs\u2019 ball movement was crisp, the spacing deliberate, and the pace relentless. Keldon Johnson attacked downhill. Devin Vassell knocked down early jumpers. Every possession seemed to produce a quality look.<\/p>\n
For a moment, it looked like a rout in the making. But the NBA rarely cooperates with easy scripts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we did a much better job in transition defense,\u201d Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cThe zone was good, communication picked up. We were a lot sharper in game plan execution and being connected. When we do that, we are hard to score on sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
After building a comfortable cushion, San Antonio\u2019s edge dulled. Turnovers crept in. Defensive rotations slowed. The Kings, playing with urgency, began to chip away. DeMar DeRozan operated patiently in the midrange, and Sacramento started turning Spurs miscues into transition points. What had been a celebration turned tense.<\/p>\n
By the middle of the third quarter, the once-comfortable lead felt fragile. Then the Spurs rediscovered themselves to begin the final 12 minutes.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama \u2014 steady even during the lull \u2014 calmly knocked down a three-pointer to stop the bleeding. On the next trip, he found a lane to the rim for an easy finish. A defensive stop turned into a fast-break dunk. Suddenly, the rhythm was back.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists \u2014 a stat line that underscored his impact beyond scoring. He protected the rim, initiated offense and steadied the team when its focus wavered. Around him, the supporting cast delivered. Johnson provided physicality and energy. The bench supplied timely shooting and hustle plays that kept Sacramento from mounting another serious threat.<\/p>\n
\u201dI think this was an above average night for me,\u201d Wembanyama said of his performance. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t amazing either. My goal is to make the standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the final minutes, the outcome was clear. The Spurs were playing loose again, knocking down shots and feeding off the crowd\u2019s energy. Sacramento, which had shown fight earlier, ran out of answers.<\/p>\n
The 139-122 final reflected San Antonio\u2019s offensive firepower \u2014 but it also told a subtler story about growth. A young team that once might have unraveled during a momentum swing instead regrouped and responded with authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have less than 30 dress rehearsals left before the playoffs,\u201d Spurs forward Harrison Barnes said of the team\u2019s performance. \u201cThis is our first time [in the playoffs] as a group. As we\u2019re prepping for that, it\u2019s important to take all of the minutes seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
For stretches, the Spurs looked complacent. When it mattered most, they looked composed.<\/p>\n
And on a night that began with fireworks and briefly drifted into uncertainty, they finished with a reminder of just how dangerous they can be when locked in.<\/p>\n
\u201dIs it better to play the best teams, it is what we work for,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cTaking one thing at a time and the stretch we just had is very satisfying. This stretch is over and its on to the next thing. We\u2019re going to take it one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Avery Johnson being back on the broadcast was such a nice moment. Him, Sean Elliott and Jacob Tobey make a nice trio that I would not be opposed to seeing return again this season.Luke Kornet\u2019s night showed why he is one of the most valuable offseason pick ups for the Spurs. Four points, five rebounds, and three assists in 13 minutes. He\u2019s proven to be a champion and this will be so important for the Spurs as they go into a critical stretch beginning in Detroit on Monday.Speaking of critical, San Antonio\u2019s three-headed guard lineup contributed 48 of the Spurs\u2019 139 points. As they enter a stretch against playoff teams, this duo will be tested and if they continue to play like this, they may just pass that test.Mitch Johnson moving Harrison Barnes into the second unit continues to look like a genius move. HB finished with 14 points off the bench in 20 minutes of action. That will be big come the postseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first few minutes felt like a track meet tilted entirely in the Spurs\u2019 favor. Inside the friendly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,6,969,474,4075,4074,534,52387],"class_list":{"0":"post-617184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-san-antonio","11":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","12":"tag-sanantonio","13":"tag-sanantoniospurs","14":"tag-spurs","15":"tag-spurs-game-recaps"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116112772686879832","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}