Spurs blitz Kings from the tip-off to close preseason with a rout
Winners by 126–97, the Spurs scored 42 points in the first quarter alone. Harper then took up the running, while the Kings end their preseason without a win.
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San Antonio ended their preseason with a comfortable 126–97 win over Sacramento at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, on the night of 16 to 17 October, Brazzaville time. The Spurs already led by 24 points after the first quarter. Dylan Harper then scored 19 points, while the Kings finish their preparations without a win.
The game quickly slips out of the Kings' reach
The half-time score, 71–37, sums up the gap between the two sides over the first half. San Antonio scored 42 points in the first twelve minutes, then added a second quarter won 29–19. Sacramento therefore did not just need to rediscover their shooting touch: they also had to make up a deficit built over two consecutive periods.
De'Aaron Fox gave an immediate spark against his former club, with ten points in the first quarter. He finished with sixteen points. Victor Wembanyama, for his part, racked up fourteen points, eight rebounds and two blocks in seventeen minutes. The Spurs were able to spread the load without relying on a long night from their centre.
Harper gives San Antonio another option
The Spurs' top scorer nevertheless began by missing four of his first five shots. Harper changed the rhythm of his own game after the break: he scored fourteen consecutive points for his team in the third quarter. His final total, achieved on seven made shots out of twelve, completes a collective start that had already been decisive.
San Antonio had seven players with ten points or more. Keldon Johnson contributed fifteen off the bench. That spread explains part of their offensive continuity: the early rotations did not let Sacramento erase the starters' work.
A better response from Sacramento, but no way back into the game
The Kings won the third quarter 35–30. Ben Simmons scored twelve of his fourteen points in it, while Zach LaVine finished as Sacramento's top scorer with twenty points. That reaction improved their second half without changing the script: San Antonio still led 101–72 going into the final quarter.
Rebounding offers another gauge of the collective gap. The Spurs pulled down 61 against 38, nineteen of them on the offensive glass. Those balls recovered after a missed shot extended their possessions and made life harder for a team already left behind.
Preparation ends, but conclusions remain measured
Sacramento end their exhibition games with five defeats in five outings. San Antonio finish with two wins and three defeats. These records do not count in the regular-season standings. For the Kings, the immediate work lies in how they start games and in controlling the boards. For the Spurs, this final outing offers encouraging collective markers, which will now have to hold up in games that really count in the standings.