The San Antonio Spurs got their first taste of Emirates Cup play on their successful trip to the home of the struggling Sacramento Kings. Despite the Kings being overmatched in talent, they gave a solid effort looking for their second win that made the Spurs sweat at times.
Things started getting ugly as the visitors kept plugging away on the glass and raised their lead to 16 points in the non-Victor Wembanyama minutes thanks in part to their 3-point shooting, ball security and Keldon Johnson’s hustle. They went on to have their second-highest scoring first half of the season (76), but had trouble getting back into their flow in the third quarter.
Their large cushion was soon sliced nearly in half until Wemby led the charge that got them back on track. There were some defensive lapses in the following period, but the Spurs quickly atoned for them with a 3-pointer or a move inside.