“He” and “they” had a continuation of the ideas, in this meeting played without Victor Wembanyama. With more or less success… “He”, first, with Zach Collins, who gave the middle finger to a referee after being excluded from the match at the start of the second quarter, following an exchange with one of the officials following his third foul. And, “they” are the supporters of Jeremy Sochan, who came to the room with green wigs, paying homage to the new dye of the American-Polish Spurs.
On the field side, the Spurs deprived of “Wemby” (as well as Devin Vassell and Tre Jones), were a little less inspired than their fans (140-113 defeat). Mitch Johnson's men held on for a half (59-69 at the break) before being crushed by the Kings upon returning from the locker room, 24 hours after their defeat against the Bulls.
139 then 140 points conceded in two days for the Spurs!
The 23-9 conceded in the third quarter was decisive, allowing Domantas Sabonis (22 points, 16 rebounds) and the Californians to take cover fairly quickly. When the Spurs, in two matches, conceded their highest number of points in quick succession. After the 139 points against the Bulls the day before, here are the 140 points against the Kings… Not really ideal when approaching a decisive end of the year to know what this 2024/25 team is really worth.
Mike Brown's men, after their narrow defeat against Memphis the day before, take their revenge against the Spurs, five days after a narrow defeat (127-125), conceded on their land.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
— Victor Wembanyama back against the Pelicans on Sunday? In “game time decision” against the Kings, “Wemby”, absent for back pain, could make his return on Sunday, against the partners of Dejounte Murray, still at the Frost Bank Center.
— Julian Champagnie takes advantage of a decimated Texan squad to beat his NBA points record. If Chris Paul got closer to the triple-double (11 points, 8 rebounds and 13 assists), the Spurs' trigger was one of the only satisfactions of the evening for the Spurs: he finished the game at 30 points ( 8/16 on shots including 6/12 from distance) in 35 minutes.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
From our correspondent in San Antonio (United States).
