Victor Wembanyama scores 30, and Spurs roll past Pacers in Paris 140-110

Victor Wembanyama scored 30 points in his first NBA game on his native French soil, Devin Vassell added 25 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers 140-110 on Thursday night.

Wembanyama finished with 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks for the Spurs. Harrison Barnes scored 20 for San Antonio, which won for only the second time in its last eight games.

The Spurs had a huge 57-31 edge in rebounding.

Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana with 24 points. Pascal Siakam added 18, Myles Turner scored 14 and Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin finished with 13 each for the Pacers.

Indiana had won eight of its last nine contests.

Takeaways

Spurs: San Antonio got forward Jeremy Sochan back on Thursday. He had missed 19 of the Spurs’ last 34 games with injuries, including the last five. Sochan had 13 points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes, making six of his nine shots.

Pacers: Defense is Indiana’s calling card, and it wasn’t there on Thursday. The Spurs shot 60% for the game. Indiana is now 2-7 this season when opponents shoot 52% or better.

Key moment

The final 2:25 of the third quarter was a Wembanyama showcase: He had four points, three rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists in that span alone. It started with the Spurs up by 16; thanks to his tip-in with one-tenth of a second remaining, San Antonio went into the fourth with a 105-80 lead.

Key stat

Thursday was the fourth time that Wembanyama finished a game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. The only players with more such games in the last 50 regular seasons are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24), Hakeem Olajuwon (14), and David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal (11 each).

Up next

The teams will play again in Paris on Saturday.

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