By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The San Antonio Spurs made 22 triples, including six by Victor Wembanyama, en route to a 116-96 victory versus the Sacramento Kings in Frost Bank Center.
“What I have changed for sure is taking less threes and taking better threes,” mentioned the French center after ending up with 6/12 on Monday, “It’s feeling better. I’m 20, I’m hoping for at least some years it’s going to keep feeling better and better. There is no reason for it to feel worse.”
Wemby netted a game-high 34 points behind 13/22 field goals. He added 14 rebounds and six assists to become the sixth player in NBA history with at least 1,700 points, 800 rebounds, and 300 assists over their first 82 appearances, following Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin, and Sidney Wicks.
“I wish you guys could see the work that goes in day and day out,” veteran point guard Chris Paul described his teammate after posting a 12-point, 11-assists double-double, “You know how talented he is, but his will to want to get better. His will to want to work on things. The more games we play, I think we all will get more and more familiar with each other.”
Over 34 minutes against the Kings, the 20-year-old upstart recorded three blocks and one steal.
“This is our emphasis right now. No stopping. Just keep getting better,” said Wembanyama on the Spurs improving to 5-6 in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season.
Additional European contributions extended to Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili pairing nine points with two rebounds. French Sidy Cissoko was limited to 52 seconds without getting on the board. Polish Jeremy Sochan (left thumb) remained sidelined.
Following four wins in a row in the head-to-head series opposite the Spurs, the Kings were overpowered in the second half and forced down to 6-5 in the Regular Season. Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis posted a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double alongside four assists and two steals. Ukrainian Alex Len was held to 83 fruitless seconds.