Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs towered over the Pistons again (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs passed another test with flying colors by defeating the Detroit Pistons by a final score of 121-106. The Spurs improved to a record of 45-17, while the Pistons fell to 45-16.
San Antonio built a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter by shooting straight and defending rigorously. While the Pistons put together sporadic runs, the Spurs always responded and were never truly challenged.
Stats: Spurs vs. Pistons
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Spurs vs. Pistons – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama opened the game with a long three-pointer and kept things rolling from there. In a season-high 39 minutes, the superstar bigman dropped 38 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks and three assists. Wembanyama, who also didn’t turn the ball over, was even better than those numbers suggest. Defensively, he was a relentless force who made the paint a no fly zone. Offensively, he was smart, aggressive and impressively skillful. When Wembanyama plays like this, he has a case for being the very best player on the planet.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
Fox deserves quite a bit of credit for this win. He came out of the gates on fire and pumped in 22 points in the first half on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. His open court speed and perimeter shotmaking made life impossible for Detroit. After laying a goose egg in the third quarter, Fox came back to life in the final period to make sure San Antonio got the victory. All in all, his scoring ability and creativity made him worth his weight in gold in this affair.
Grade: A-
Stephon Castle
Another game, another fantastic defensive performance for Castle. He terrorized Cunningham from the opening tip and never relented. Offensively, Castle had half of the team’s 24 assists; no one else had more than three. His vision, patience and natural playmaking skills were very impressive to witness. Scoring-wise, Castle was efficient on his way to 11 points but it was in other ways in which the second-year guard dominated the action.
Grade: A-
Devin Vassell
Vassell hit a three-pointer early to help the Spurs get off to a hot start. While he didn’t hit another three and ended up scoring only eight points in 31 minutes, he played a decent game. His shot-selection was fine, he passed better than usual, he efforted on defense and he kept his mistakes to a minimum. Vassell is oozing confidence right now so that allows him to retain his value even when his shot is off.
Grade: B-
Julian Champagnie
It was a tale of two halves for Champagnie. In the first half, he was silent on the offensive end but pulled down six rebounds. In the second half, he had only one rebound but poured in 16 points in 15 minutes. In that stretch, he hit three three-pointers and five free throws to help space the court for the good guys. Champagnie authored heady plays on both sides of the court as he continues to show that he’s a quality starter.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
Against a physical Pistons squad, the Spurs needed a few physical players on their side and Johnson was ready and willing to answer the bell. His statistical output wasn’t particularly impressive but he played hard, was felt on the glass and didn’t hesitate to battle in the paint.
Grade: B
Dylan Harper
The good: Harper hit another three-pointer and is now shooting 58.3% from the field and 34.6% from three-point range over his last 11 games. Against the Pistons, the rookie had a handful of strong drives. I also loved his competitiveness on the defensive end. The bad: Harper had only one assist, which is even worse when you consider he turned the ball over three times. Detroit’s physicality seemed to rattle the rookie — but that’s understandable.
Grade: B-
Carter Bryant
Bryant only had one basket in his 20 minutes — a thunderous alleyoop from Fox. But don’t let his two points distract you from the fact that the rookie was really damn impactful. He had fantastic moments on the defensive end highlighted by his three blocked shots. Bryant was also impactful on the boards and his energy in transition helped supercharge the Spurs.
Grade: B+
Luke Kornet
With Wembanyama playing 39 minutes, Kornet was on the bench for all but eight minutes versus the Pistons. In his time on the court, the team’s backup center didn’t find much success. He had only one basket and one rebound. Kornet was physical enough — it was just an off night at the office.
Grade: C
Mitch Johnson
I mean, what more can you say about Coach Mitch at this point? He had his troops ready to rock against one of the best teams in the entire association. The Pistons are a difficult matchup on paper but when Coach Mitch has the Spurs matching Detroit’s physicality, it’s game over.
Grade: A-