AUSTIN, Texas, USA (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the San Antonio Spurs, who beat the Sacramento Kings 139-122 on Saturday for their eighth consecutive victory and swept their two games in Austin.
Sacramento suffered its 16th consecutive loss, an undesirable franchise record. The latest two stumbles came after center Domantas Sabonis and guard Zach LaVine underwent season-ending surgeries.
De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson each scored 18 points for the Spurs, while Wembanyama added six assists and four blocks.
Keegan Murray and DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento with 20 points each. Malik Monk scored 19, while Maxime Raynaud — a freshman from Stanford and Wembanyama’s fellow Frenchman — had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
San Antonio, playing in a city it considers part of a megaregion it has cultivated for several years, scored the game’s first 11 points, setting an aggressive tone that included three Wembanyama blocks in the first 90 seconds.
Sacramento, depleted, fought its way back into the game through effort. They trailed by just one point with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Kings’ determination translated into seven offensive rebounds from Raynaud. On several occasions, he palmed the ball back toward his unmarked teammates for them to shoot.
But that wasn’t enough against Wembanyama, who hit a 3-pointer and assisted on another by Harrison Barnes, both in the final minute of the third quarter, to give the Spurs a 105-94 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
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AP Sports: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
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