Spurs
Victor Wembanyama took a career-high 34 shots Saturday. Dylan Harper didn’t seem to mind.
“He’s just so dominant,” Harper said, via Tom Petrini of Spurs On SI. “My biggest thing with him is just if you’re gonna take the shot, take it, be confident.”
Wembanyama finished with 43 points and six blocks in the 121-111 win over Minnesota, San Antonio’s fourth straight. Harper added a regular-season career-high 25 points.
The Spurs also kept finding Wembanyama above the rim against a Timberwolves team missing Rudy Gobert. Coach Mitch Johnson credited his star’s commitment to screening and rolling, along with his teammates’ willingness to throw the pass.
“That’s probably the most lobs we ever threw as a team,” Harper said.
Stephon Castle went scoreless while playing through a migraine, but Johnson made sure his contribution wasn’t overlooked.
“Steph Castle clocked in for work tonight, and we needed every second of it.”
Trail Blazers
With Ja Morant sidelined, Micah Nori had an experienced option to put in the starting lineup. He went with Scoot Henderson instead.
As Sahal Arwo of Blazers On SI writes, starting Henderson allowed Jrue Holiday to remain with the second unit in Saturday’s 112-90 win at Utah.
Henderson scored 14 points and collected three steals in a team-high 31 minutes. Holiday supplied 14 points off the bench as Portland improved to 4-1.
Vit Krejci also got more work, playing 24 minutes after struggling to find his shot early in the season. Arwo highlighted his reads and passing, even though his final line was a modest five points, four rebounds and two assists.
Deni Avdija continued to produce regardless of who was handling the ball. He scored 24 points, his fourth straight game above 20. His usage rate is only slightly below last season’s despite Portland’s backcourt additions, Arwo noted.
Kings
Darius Acuff Jr. keeps giving the Kings something to feel good about. The rest of the evening hasn’t been nearly as encouraging.
The rookie scored 38 points with nine threes in Saturday’s 136-105 loss at Memphis, as Will Zimmerle of Kings On SI details. Sacramento fell to 0-6.
Acuff added five rebounds and five assists, but the Kings allowed Memphis to shoot 55.3 percent overall and make 19 of 38 threes.
De’Andre Hunter scored 19. Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine managed 11 apiece, combining for just 14 shot attempts. Sacramento’s bench contributed 20 points.
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