San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) goes to the basket against Sacramento Kings Center Domantas Sabonis (left) in the first half at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Tue Oct 27, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings game wrap:

By Mauricio Segura

For a few minutes, the Kings were playing like you would expect a winning team to do so. Domantas Sabonis scored inside, De’Andre Hunter supplied perimeter offense, and Darius Acuff Jr. briefly put the Kings ahead. Then Julian Champagnie began making the three-point line look like his personal property, and the Spurs turned a competitive opening into a 130-103 victory.

Champagnie buried eight three-pointers and scored 26 points, including six triples in a devastating second quarter. Victor Wembanyama contributed 29 points, ten rebounds, five blocks and two steals, giving the Spurs control both around the basket and on the scoreboard. The outcome was effectively settled by halftime, when the Kings trailed 80-54.

The Spurs wasted no time establishing their preferred offensive connection. De’Aaron Fox found Wembanyama for an alley-oop dunk just 12 seconds after the opening tip. Stephon Castle delivered another lob less than two minutes later, and Devin Vassell connected with Wembanyama for a third alley-oop midway through the period. The Kings also discovered early that shooting over the towering center was no easier than defending him: Wembanyama blocked attempts by Sabonis and Acuff in the opening quarter.

Still, the Kings pushed back. Sabonis scored eight first-quarter points, Hunter added eight, and Acuff’s 25-foot pull-up three gave the Kings a 23-22 advantage with 4:15 remaining. Precious Achiuwa later tied the score at 25, but the Spurs closed the period on a 14-4 run. Wembanyama finished the quarter with 15 points, and the Spurs held a 39-29 advantage.

The second quarter belonged to Champagnie. He made a three-pointer with 10:55 remaining, another at 8:48, and four more, the last at 4:23. The Kings could not keep pace with that accuracy, particularly when their own possessions ended with missed shots or turnovers. Champagnie’s eighth three of the half stretched the margin to 68-43. He had 24 points at the break, all from beyond the arc.

The Spurs outscored the Kings 41-25 in that quarter. Dylan Harper converted a steal into a three-point play that made it 60-38, while Wembanyama closed the half with a putback just before the buzzer. Through two quarters, the Spurs had 80 points, Wembanyama had 23, and the Kings had a 26-point problem that could not be attributed to any single defensive lapse.

The Kings showed more resistance after intermission, but their scoring never translated into sustained pressure on the lead. Zach LaVine opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, Hunter answered Spurs baskets with shots of his own, and Acuff continued attacking inside. Yet Castle struck twice from three-point range early in the period, and Wembanyama added two dunks as the Spurs maintained their advantage. Vassell’s three with 7:15 left increased the difference to 28 points at 97-69.

The Kings received substantial production from four players. Hunter finished with 24 points and five three-pointers, LaVine scored 22, and Sabonis recorded 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Acuff added 19 points and five assists. Those figures would usually suggest a more competitive contest, but the Kings never recovered from the first-half separation.

The Spurs also received 15 points from Castle, 14 apiece from Vassell and Keldon Johnson, and 13 from Harper. Vassell contributed eight assists, while Harper added six. Champagnie scored only two points after halftime, but he had already done more than enough damage. With the score 107-80 after three quarters, both teams produced 23 points in the fourth, leaving the earlier deficit intact.

Ultimately, the Spurs did not need a dramatic finish. They had combined Wembanyama’s interior dominance with an extraordinary display of outside shooting, forcing the Kings to deal with two problems at once. The Kings found offense in several places. They never found a way to slow both.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.