Wembanyama Posts 30 and 14 as Spurs Beat Kings

Domantas Sabonis jumped the screen, Victor Wembanyama cut back the other way, and his lob found Stephon Castle on the roll. Castle caught it at the apex, spun midair, and whipped it to Devin Vassell in the corner for three. That was the Spurs on Friday night: Wembanyama had 30 points and 14 rebounds and San Antonio beat the Sacramento Kings 124-109 at Golden 1 Center for its seventh straight win, the Associated Press and NBA.com reported.

The win opened NBA Cup group play for both teams and moved the Spurs to 7-2. It also came two nights after Wembanyama put up 52 points and 24 rebounds in a one-point home win over Dallas, so the bar for a quiet night is now 30 and 14.

Wembanyama Did It in 26 Minutes

Wembanyama scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half and grabbed his 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes. He shot 10-for-18 overall and 4-for-6 from three, matching his season high for made triples. That was the part worth noticing. His jumper had been cold to start the season, and on Friday the open looks from deep went down while the lobs and putbacks kept coming.

San Antonio trailed early, then closed the first quarter on a 20-9 run and led 75-56 at halftime. The Kings never got closer than striking distance after that. Castle punctuated the third quarter with a one-handed alley-oop off a Wembanyama feed from the elbow.

Three Spurs Guards at 19

The supporting cast was balanced. Castle, Dylan Harper, and Vassell each scored 19, with Castle adding seven assists. The Spurs shot 15-for-30 from three and won the glass 56-44. Sacramento also sent them to the line 42 times, which is how a game gets away in a hurry.

For the Kings, Darius Acuff Jr. scored 22 with eight assists, and Sabonis had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Sacramento won the fourth quarter, but the 19-point halftime hole was too deep.

Wembanyama’s early-season line is already historic. NBA.com reported that through nine games he has 250-plus points, 100-plus rebounds, and 35-plus blocks, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 and Shaquille O’Neal in 1993 as the only players to reach those totals through nine games since blocks became an official stat in 1973-74.

Spurs at Blazers Saturday

San Antonio stays on the road and plays at Portland on Saturday night, the second game of a back-to-back. The Blazers are coming off their own loss Friday, a 124-118 defeat to Luka Doncic and the Lakers, and they will see a Spurs team riding a seven-game win streak.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Victor Wembanyama rebounds at Portland. He grabbed 14 in 26 minutes Friday and 24 on Wednesday. If San Antonio limits his minutes on the back end of the back-to-back, pivot to Stephon Castle assists, since the Wembanyama-to-Castle short roll is the action the Spurs keep running.