2023-11-18 10:38:23
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 57 minutes ago, Updated 24 minutes ago
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs fell to the Kings. Scott Wachter / REUTERS
San Antonio lost Friday against Sacramento (129-120), the French pivot’s 27 points and 9 rebounds were not enough.
Victor Wembanyama had a full game (27 points, 9 rebounds) but could not prevent the seventh consecutive defeat of the San Antonio Spurs against Sacramento (129-120) Friday in the NBA. Crushed Tuesday by Oklahoma City (123-87), the French prodigy only scored 8 points. Vengeful, it took him 4 minutes on Friday to reach this total by attacking the match with his feet on the floor.
But the Spurs never managed to create a lasting gap in a close match (62 all at half-time, 95-94 for the visitors after the 3rd quarter), before being subjected to the law of the Kings, more solid at the end of the match. The Californians relied in particular on their leader De’Aaron Fox, untenable with 43 points (14 out of 24), and on the Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis (27 points, 14 rebounds).
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Well supported by pivot Zach Collins (28 points, 8 rebounds), Wembanyama stood out with a nice «alley-oop» with one hand while being fouled, but missed his end of the match between missed shots and “walk” whistled as the Spurs began to let go. Above all, the French giant displays an ugly differential of -31 (his team “lost” by a cumulative 31 points during his 30 minutes on the floor).
“It’s hard to be patient, it’s a daily battle”
«There are sacrifices to make, we know it, it’s hard to be patient, it’s a daily battle“, commented Wembanyama. “As long as we stay motivated, focused and with a clear mind, we will be fine.» Coach Gregg Popovich to him «appreciated the efforts» : «It’s super frustrating to lose, but you have to know how to keep perspective to understand. Over time we will reduce our mistakes, this should lead us to some victories.»
Still deprived of two major players (Tre Jones and Devin Vassell) due to injury, the Spurs are paying for their youth and the lack of depth in their squad and are sinking in the standings (3 wins – 9 losses, penultimate in the Western Conference) . The match also counted for the group stage of the new mid-season tournament, and the Texans are guaranteed not to reach the quarter-finals, which Sacramento is approaching (2 victories in 2 matches).
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