Spurs Rout the Kings 130-103 Behind Champagnie's Record-Tying Eight First-Half Threes and Wembanyama's 29
San Antonio scored 80 points in the first half Tuesday night at Frost Bank Center, evening its record at 2-2 before Wednesday's trip to Utah.
The San Antonio Spurs put up 80 points in the first half and rode a blistering shooting night from Julian Champagnie to a 130-103 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, Reuters reported. Champagnie scored 24 of his 26 points in the first half, and every one of them came from behind the arc — eight 3-pointers, tying his own franchise record for most threes in a half, on 8-of-10 shooting from deep in the first two quarters.
"Sizable," Champagnie said, laughing, when asked by reporters how big the basket looked during the run. "My teammates did a really good job of getting me open and finding where I'm at on the court. I always give credit to them. Without them, I'm not making those shots." Victor Wembanyama added a game-high 29 points on 14-of-21 shooting, with 10 rebounds and five blocks in less than 27 minutes, and San Antonio finished with 35 assists against 13 turnovers.
Coach Mitch Johnson praised the ball movement that kept finding Champagnie once he got hot. "I thought our team did a good job of recognizing where he was once he got going," Johnson said, per Reuters. After advancing to the NBA Finals last season, the Spurs opened this campaign with back-to-back losses; Tuesday's win was their second straight and pulled them to 2-2, with a road game against the injury-thinned Utah Jazz next on Wednesday night.
