Spurs put away Pacers in 'alarming' third quarter as Wemby delights locals
The Pacers lacked resistance as Victor Wembanyama delivered on his pre-game promise, then shined in front of a sellout home crowd in a 30-point Pacers loss. Come inside Accor Arena for Game 1.
PARIS — Shortly before tip-off, Victor Wembanyama heard a rousing ovation from his home crowd even before he was handed the microphone from Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin.
The reason both teams were there was to allow Wemby to play at home, as well as to help in the NBA’s efforts to both expand and grow the game.
Tickets sold out quickly and they were not cheap. Thursday was the first of two meetings between the Pacers and Spurs — a first for the NBA to take teams out of the country for not one but two regular-season games.
Just 21 years old, yet Wemby keeps delivering for his team.
He took them to the gym he grew up playing, he treated them to the best food and wine in town, and then he put together a complete performance that led to a 140-110 win over the Pacers led by a dominant second half.
“One of the most impressive things to me about him in his first year and a half is just he plays the game the way it's supposed to be played,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said pregame. “I cannot imagine how he feels coming back to his home country for these two games with all the visibility. I'm sure he's had to do all kinds of appearances and everything else.
“I hope that he settles in and has an enjoyable two games. Not too enjoyable, probably, but he shows phenomenal maturity for a player that age, not to mention all his skills.”
That was before Wemby went for 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and five blocks in just over 32 minutes. He was only needed for six minutes in the final quarter given that the game was well in hand.
And this was Carlisle after the game.
“I don't know what Victor said before the game, but whatever he said worked,” he said after the Pacers didn’t put up a fight in the second half. “They played a great game.