The San Antonio Spurs will look to build on a rousing win over one of the league's top teams when they take on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday in the Alamo City.
The Spurs head into the matchup after a surprising 132-118 win at home over Oklahoma City on Thursday that snapped a five-game losing streak. Victor Wembanyama racked up 28 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks in the victory, with Devin Vassell also scoring 28 points as San Antonio was at its best in the final seven minutes.
Oklahoma City was within three points when Tre Jones and Wembanyama canned back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter with 2:10 left that pushed the Spurs' margin to 127-118.
"Any good basketball team is going to play their best defense in that fourth quarter, so to see us (hold) OKC to 22 was impressive," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That and assists, I think were good. I was proud of them. They dug down deep and stuck with it, and they showed a lot of mettle tonight against a hell of a team. To play with them like that is really a good feeling for these guys."
Jeremy Sochan added 21 points for San Antonio, with Jones scoring 17, Zach Collins hitting for 13 and Keldon Johnson racking up 10 points.
"We just played with heart, and I think it's one of the best ways to come back home after a month away," Wembanyama said.
Indiana travels to South Texas after dropping a 129-102 decision in New Orleans on Friday in the second of a home-and-home series over three nights between the teams. The Pacers were swamped from the opening tip, allowing New Orleans to score a franchise-high points 48 in the first quarter and never got into the game.
Indiana shot just 42.1 percent from the floor and was held 21 points shy of its league-leading 123 points per game average. Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson scored 13 points each to lead the Pacers' anemic attack while Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner added 12 each and Andrew Nembhard had 10 points. Jackson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
"We let them get their rhythm," Nesmith said. "They took a lot of tough 2s in the first. A lot of contested 3s and they made them. We just gotta get better from the jump and not let them see the easy ones go in."
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton went scoreless in 23 minutes, going 0 for 7 from the floor in the loss. It was the first time this year that Haliburton has scored less than five points.
"This is a Pacers' thing," Carlisle said about Haliburton. "It's not any individual guy. Don't turn this into a Tyrese thing. It's not a Tyrese thing. It's a Pacers' thing."
Indiana beat the Spurs 152-111 at home on Nov. 6 in the first game of the season between the teams. That 152-point output is tied for the fifth highest in the NBA in 2023-24.
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