San Antonio vs. Indiana, final score: Spurs lose 140 to Pacers in Paris

In Jeremy Sochan’s (13 points and 9 rebounds) return to meaningful action, it was Victor Wembanyama – in his triumphant return to his homeland – and Devin Vassell and their fellow Spurs who shot the lights out (60%), assisting on 25 of their first 29 makes and persistently outscored their opponents (13 offensive rebounds, 10 blocks and 10 steals) to complete a 140-110 blitzing of the Indiana Pacers.

France’s ambassador for basketball, Wembanyama (30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks), threw a party in front of his fellow citizens. Vassell (25 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks), paired like a fine wine with his famous teammate to ensure there would be no Indiana comeback. Harrison Barnes (20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals) played his role as glue man, while backup guard Tre Jones (11 points and 8 assists) had a solid effort off the bench, generously setting up teammates and finding his own offense at the right time .

Indiana was paced by an untouchable Benedict Mathurin (24 points and 2 steals) and Pascal Siakam (18 points and 6 rebounds). Obi Toppin chipped in 13 points, most of which came in the opening half, to power the Pacers offense.

Observations

• The NBA Cobwebs had this little gem of a memory for Spurs and Manu fans this morning. Two of Manu’s best fastbreak highlights came against Sacramento.
• Pretty unfortunate that the Pacers broadcast team was the one featured on NBA TV’s broadcast.
• Number of times the broadcast team pronounced his surname “WembanYANA” = over a dozen.
• From the looks of where the Indiana bigs launched their threes, it appears that the top of the key is the spot that was encouraged (Turner, Thomas Bryant, Toppin)
• Devin’s Deeds: While he hit a ton of slick shots tonight, he also had a deflection in the first quarter and even had a steal late in the third period along with a handful of impressive teammates throughout.
• The order of the game #1: In the first few minutes, Wembanyama, after being beaten off the dribble by Turner, still made ground and blocked Pacers’ attempts at the rim. Barnes converted a reverse layup downcourt.
• Game order #2: Late in the third quarter, after Buckner opined that “This game is far from over,” Wembanyama put Andrew Nembhard’s shot against the backboard, setting up Sochan for the easy alley-oop. On the next possession, Wembanyama emphatically knocked away TJ McConnell’s shot and assisted on Julian Champagnie’s wing three. Wembanyama then blocked Toppin’s flailing attempt and Sochan returned to Wembanyama for an alley-oop. On Indiana’s fourth attempt to score, they got a goal on a late Wembanyama contest.
• Tre Jones’ podium play(?): Jones stole an errant Indiana pass midway through the third and floated into the paint for a layup. He then kicked it out on the next possession to an open Keldon Johnson for a whistle to put the Spurs up 14.
• Beautiful game sequence honoring Boris Diaw: In the last minute of the first half, the sequence went like this: Johnson -> Jones -> Vassell -> Sochan -> Vassell -> Wembanyama -> Sochan for a lay-up. You’ll have to watch it again and again to bask in the ‘good to great’ness.
• Area 51: Wembanyama, after getting his own offense, found Castle with a feathery pass in transition midway through the opening frame to lay the guard down.
• Little use: Spurs backups who got playing time as a result of the excellent work of the starters: Mamukelashivili, Sidy Cissoko, Blake Wesley, Malaki Branham.

Game Rundown

Under the bright lights of the Accor Arena, Vassell encouragingly hit two early jumpers while Castle had two turnovers. Siakam and Haliburton connected from three to stake Indiana to a four-point advantage. Wembanyama had a 7-0 run of his own to put Spurs ahead. Tre Jones stripped TJ McConnell at the rim and followed a Johnson miss with a tip-in. Sochan impacted the game quickly with a run stop and flew three. Former dunk contest champion Toppin hit a trio of threes (didn’t know it was in the bag now). Sochan gifted Wembanyama with a pass that allowed the center to hit a three. San Antonio left a well-played first period up by one.

Champagnie was whistled for two fouls in the first 30 seconds of the second. This allowed Mamukelashvili to get playing time and secure an offensive rebound. TJ McConnell’s layup kicked off a 6-0 run. Mamukelashvili assisted on a Wembanyama drive and dunk and a wing three soon after. Jones wanted a reverse layup home, made a hard dumpoff to Johnson on the baseline for a power dunk and expertly set up Vassell for a transition three. San Antonio hit the offensive boards furiously throughout the stanza, and Johnson’s putback put them up three. Vassell would home a shot clock pounding floater to get San Antonio to the half up three.

At the start of the third, a pair of corner threes from Harrison Barnes and Vassell put the Spurs up by nine, but Turner countered with seven of his own. Barnes continued his yeoman effort with a driving lay-up and a tip-in. The Paul-Wembanyama battery paired up — the first ending with a Wembanyama three and the second ending with a bank shot — to put San Antonio up 13. During one sequence, it appeared there were eight Spurs on the floor , as they grabbed offensive rebounds. Indiana briefly went into a zone, but Barnes’ whistles quickly ended that nonsense. Mathurin attacked the basket to score seven points and shave the deficit. Jones got back into the game and immediately scored a transition bucket and assisted on a Johnson three. Sochan and Vassell found each other on consecutive possessions to put San Antonio up 90-71. In one memorable sequence, Wembanyama blocked three Pacers’ shots and assisted on two San Antonio markers, receiving his own alley-oop at the other end. To perfectly tie a bow on this “piece de resistance”, Wembanyama tipped in a miss at the buzzer to put his team up 103-80.

Please visit for the Pacers fan’s perspective Indy Cornrows.

The teams meet again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CDT.