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After three straight games of scoring 127 or more points, the Spurs’ offense came back down to earth in Sacramento. After a strong first quarter where they led by as many as 8 points, the offense completely stagnated in a second quarter collapse while the defense couldn’t stop the red-hot Kings. Although the Spurs tried to make things interesting in the fourth, cutting the deficit to the lower double-digits a few times, the Kings always had an answer, and the 27-point hole they had dug themselves was too deep to climb out of on the way to a 109-127 loss.
Stephon Castle was really the only Spurs who had much going on offense, leading the way with 25 points on 10-17 shooting off the bench before fouling out, while De’Aaron Fox struggled in his return with 16 points on just 6-17 shooting. Zach LaVine led all players with 36 points, including seven threes, and DeMar DeRozan dropped 22 on his old team.
### Observations
* It didn’t take long, but this was Fox’s first game back in front of the only other fan base he has been a part of. He made it clear leading up to the game that his beef was with the Kings’ organization (for reasons such as letting him taking the blame for Mike Brown’s firing even though he played no role), not with the city or fans. The reaction from the fans was mixed, as he got loud cheers when he was introduced before the game and during a video tribute during the first timeout, but they booed whenever he touched the ball when the game was in action. He made his first shot but otherwise struggled most of the night, perhaps trying too hard to make an impression while his former teammates played some motivated defense against him.
* I was all over the Jonas Valanciunis bandwagon when it came to the Spurs upgrading their backup center depth, and they may have considered it in hindsight if they knew both Victor Wembanyama and Charles Bassey would go down. Alas, the Kings got Jonas (ironically, for Sidy Cissoko after was sent to Sacramento as part of the Fox trade), and he was the problem he always is for the Spurs with his size and physicality, posting a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double on 7-8 shooting. Bismack Biyombo is one of the more physical bigs in the league, but he was no match for Valanciunis on this night.
* The second quarter ended up being the stinker for the Sours tonight, where they were outscored 36-16 after leading by six after one. It was the same old problems: the offense going stagnant with no ball movement, and on the other end they gave up 10 offensive boards for 20 second chance points in the half while over-helping on defense, leaving the Kings’ shooters — especially LaVine, who had 18 first-half points — wide open.
* It was somewhat surprising to see Wemby traveling with the team since precautions are advised when it comes to flying with deep vein thrombosis, but the reality is the risk is minimal, especially in young people and in flights shorter than four hours. Also, the fact that it’s in his shoulder, not his legs, probably also lowers the risk level since it’s easier to keep the upper body moving, where as if it’s in the legs, the advice is to get up and walk around when possible.
The Spurs return will head to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Sunday. Tip-off will be at 7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports.