Rebound goal for Victor Wembanyama And San Antonio, who remain on six defeats in a row and especially on a correction in Oklahoma City. Problem: receiving Sacramentoon four consecutive victories, is not the easiest…
The start is however to the advantage of Spurs which, launched by Victor Wembanyama in the paint and the pair Keldon Johnson – Julian Champagnie at 3-points, take the Kings short. Quickly left behind (-18!), the latter however come back thanks to effective rotations, in comparison with their holders. Enough to catch up – almost – all their accumulated delay (31-29).
Always propelled by the efficiency of his bench (Malik Monk in the lead), Sacramento then takes control, but San Antonio relies on Victor Wembanyama, but also Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson, to respond to visitors. In relay from Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox And Domantas Sabonis do the job in this first period which is, to say the least, balanced (62-62).
After the break, the Fox/Sabonis tandem allows the Kings to seriously pull away with the score (+16), but the Spurs do not give up, because they intend not to disappoint their fans this evening. Guided by their bench, but especially by Zach Collins, Gregg Popovich’s men overthrew those of Mike Brown at the exit of De’Aaron Fox, to completely reignite the suspense twelve minutes from the end (95-94)!
Everything remains to be done in this part and Sacramento relies on De’Aaron Fox, again, without forgetting Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes, while San Antonio trusts Victor Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins. Insufficient, however, to withstand the shock against the Californians, since the “money time” is in favor of Sacto’ and Fox, just too strong for the opposing defenders (129-120).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Five in a row for Sacramento. And five for the Kings, who signed their fifth success in a row, to continue their rise in the rankings. The return of De’Aaron Fox, irresistible and untenable, allowed us to find the team that was blazing last season and, from experience, they made these young Spurs crack, decidedly too brittle in defense to slow down such an attack flamboyant than that of Mike Brown’s players.
– Victor Wembanyama relaunches. After completely failing against Oklahoma City, “Wemby” rectified things rather well, in every sense of the word, flirting with a big double-double. Supported by Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins, without Devin Vassell or Tre Jones, the Frenchman insisted in the paint against the Kings.
– San Antonio eliminated, Sacramento undefeated. Three defeats in three games for the Spurs in the In-Season Tournament, which means that they can no longer claim the title in this new mid-season tournament. On the other hand, the Kings moved to 2-0 and were well on their way to qualifying for the quarter-finals. While waiting for Thunder, Warriors and Wolves to play again, starting next Friday.
TOP/FLOP
✅ The Fox – Monk – Sabonis trio. De’Aaron Fox of course, but also Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis: these were the three strong men of the Kings this night. Malik Monk, to help the team pick up the score in the first act, then give it the necessary boost to rest the holders, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to then fuel the brand of the Californian franchise throughout the evening, without slowing down. Victor Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins weren’t enough.
⛔️ Jeremy Sochan on De’Aaron Fox. Without Devin Vassell or Tre Jones, the Pole (8 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists) found himself on defense against De’Aaron Fox. And beyond having collected a technical foul, the Texan “leader” was simply not fast enough to hold off against the Californian dragster.
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.
