Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers – Game #42
There may be a health update on Victor Wembanyama (Photo via X)
With Victor Wembanyama headlining the show, the San Antonio Spurs took on the Indiana Pacers on Thursday afternoon. In his homecoming, Wembanyama wowed the crowd on a consistent basis in San Antonio’s blowout victory.
The first half was a tight back and forth affair. After halftime, though, the Spurs simply couldn’t be stopped. San Antonio scored 80 points in the second half by hitting 66.7% of their shots from the field, including 10-for-16 (62.5%) from three-point range.
When the smoke cleared, the Spurs had an emphatic 140-110 victory over the Pacers. San Antonio and Indiana play again in Paris on Saturday afternoon. The good guys will obviously hope for a similar encore performance.
Stats: Spurs vs. Pacers
Spurs vs. Pacers – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Playing in front of his hometown fans, we could have forgiven Wembanyama for being nervous. But, instead, the Frenchman was awesome. He lived up to the hype — and then some. Wembanyama was 4-for-11 from three-point land and 9-for-10 from inside of the arc on his way to 30 points in 32 minutes. When he wasn’t scoring, he was showing off his great passing skills or wowing with his dribbling. Defensively, he was a monster. Once he got rolling on that end, the Pacers were in big, big trouble. While Wembanyama wasn’t perfect on this night, he was pretty damn close. He’s so good at basketball it can be unbelievable at times.
Grade: A+
Devin Vassell
Looking calm, cool and confident, Vassell was a lethal offensive threat in Paris. Most notably, he was 5-for-6 from deep. I liked his shot-selection and his passing was better than usual. When Vassell is picking his spots with smarts, he’s a quality basketball player. Defensively, he was as active as we’ve seen him in weeks.
Grade: A
Chris Paul
The good: Paul ran the show really well. He totaled seven assists and only one turnover while routinely making the right decision. Paul’s defense wasn’t awesome but he was sturdy on the boards, which helped. The bad: Paul didn’t shoot a two-pointer and has only shot one two in the last three games. In the first half against the Pacers, he was difficult to hide on defense at times.
Grade: B+
Harrison Barnes
The Spurs dominated the third quarter and Barnes deserves a lot of credit for how San Antonio played in that period. He led the way with 10 points, as he hit both of his threes and both of his twos. When Barnes is aggressive on offense, everything seems to roll better. For the night, he hit 9-of-10 shots from the field, passed the ball well, rebounded better than usual and limited his mistakes.
Grade: A
Stephon Castle
Castle had some highlights but, unfortunately, he had more lowlights. He shot poorly from the field and totaled five turnovers in 24 minutes. Better decision-making in all facets of the game would have helped the rookie’s cause. Then again, his athleticism definitely popped at times and his feel for the game was also obvious. Castle has to play cleaner but this wasn’t a total disappointment.
Grade: C-
Keldon Johnson
Not a bad showing for Johnson. He’s making good, fast decisions with the ball lately. His shooting form looks a bit wonky but defenses are respecting his shot, which is important. Johnson’s defense was better than usual and his overall energy level was contagious.
Grade: B
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan was quietly pretty great. Returning from a back injury, the enthusiastic forward made his presence felt. He wasn’t shy about impacting the proceedings on the offensive end — and his actions were almost all positive. He attacked with smarts, whether finishing shots himself or setting up teammates. Sochan’s defense was really good, he was a beast on the boards and he was relentlessly engaged on both ends of the court. Welcome back.
Grade: A
Tre Jones
I’ve been waiting for something that looks like a breakout performance out of Jones and this game in Paris might have been it. He looked much more like a complete player than he has at any time this season. Offensively, he pushed the tempo, set the table for teammates and was able to efficiently put points on the board. He hit a three, drove with purpose and limited his mistakes even though he was moving at a hectic pace. Defensively, Jones was flying around the court trying to create chaos.
Grade: A
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie mostly hid in the shadows in San Antonio’s first game in Paris but he did well. He was making faster decisions than usual, which definitely helped the flow of the offense. The spacing he brings to the court was helpful and he held up well on the defensive end. Boards were also another strength for Champagnie.
Grade: B
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili got a few extra minutes on Thursday and took advantage of the time. He played with electricity on both sides of the court, played within the concepts of the team and hustled nonstop. Mamukelashvili has a very real case that he deserves to be in the rotation.
Grade: B+
Mitch Johnson
Johnson should bottle whatever he said at halftime. I liked how he used Wembanyama throughout. The bench looked like an actual functional unit for the first time in a while. Running plays for Vassell also paid immediate dividends.
Grade: A