Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Sacramento Kings is guarded by Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Golden 1 Center on November 06, 2026 in Sacramento, California. Mandatory photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — The Kings entered play on Friday night as a 1-7 basketball team as they welcomed the San Antonio Spurs to town for a weekend matchup. The Kings last played on Wednesday when they fell to the Lakers as Luka Doncic scored 40 points against the Kings. On Friday, it was De’Aaron Fox and Wemby in town just two days after Victor Wembanyama scored 52 points with 24 rebounds and eight blocks in a game.

The Spurs defeated the Kings 124-109 as the Kings’ record fell to 1-8 on the season.

In the first quarter, the Kings were able to compete early on, but the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama made a run late in the quarter to create some separation from the Kings early. Wemby went for 12 points in the first quarter to lead the Spurs in outscoring the Kings 38-29 to open the game. Zach LaVine led the way for the Kings in the first quarter with six points.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to struggle against the size and shooting of the Spurs. The Kings’ defense had no answer for the Spurs as they outscored the Kings 37-27 to take a 75-56 lead into halftime. It was an onslaught from the entire Spurs rotation, while Domantas Sabonis did his best to counter with nine points of his own in the quarter. Victor Wembanyama led all scorers at halftime with 20 points, while Dylan Harper added 11 points for the Spurs in the first half. For the Kings, it was Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine doing the majority of the scoring as they had 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the half.

In the third quarter, the Spurs and Kings played their most competitive quarter, but each team scored 24 points as the Kings failed to mount a comeback in the game. Stephon Castle led the scoring for the Spurs in the third with nine points, while Malik Monk paced the Kings, adding eight in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, it was curtains for the Kings as the Spurs sealed the deal, with Wemby adding six points to finish the game with 30 points and 14 rebounds. The Kings outscored the Spurs 29-25 in the fourth, but it was of no avail as the Kings still fell 124-109. The game’s leading scorer was indeed Wemby with 30 points, while Darius Acuff Jr. led the Kings with 22 points. Domantas Sabonis registered another double-double as he finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds on the night.

After the game, the Kings spoke about the 26 fouls they committed and how they think they can improve upon that number.

“I mean, individual defense, first of all, it comes down to that, but I think there was physicality on both ends of the floor,” Doug Christie said after the game.

“It was not a great defensive showing from us,” Dylan Cardwell said postgame. “We fouled them too much and [let them] shoot too many open threes. We just didn’t have game plan discipline.”

The Kings will stay home to take on the Miami Heat on Sunday at 6 p.m. PST at Golden 1 Center.