The San Antonio Spurs’ final preseason tune-up looked nothing like the sluggish debut of their three-guard starting group. This time, they came out firing, grabbed control early and kept pouring it on in a 126-97 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday at Frost Bank Center.
Dylan Harper got the night started with a drive to the rim, and Victor Wembanyama followed soon after with one of the plays of the preseason. After pulling down a defensive rebound, the 7-foot-4 forward brought the ball up himself, took just four dribbles, launched it off the backboard from the free throw line and finished the self-lob.
By the time the starters checked out in the first quarter, San Antonio was up 16. The lead ballooned to 34 by halftime.
The Spurs shot 8-for-10 to open the game, and even after the hot start cooled a bit, the offense kept humming. San Antonio finished with 16 first-half assists and rarely looked bothered by Sacramento’s defense.
“We played such good basketball today,” Harper said postgame. “We're starting to figure out our identity and figure out how to play with each other.”
Harper and Stephon Castle helped drive the ball movement, combining for nine assists in the first half, while De’Aaron Fox - facing his former team - scored 16 points in that same stretch. Harper also had a point about the group’s chemistry and willingness to work together.
“We all help each other out,” Harper said of the guard trio. “We're all very unselfish.
Just learning how to play off the ball and getting better at that ... knowing when to cut, when to space ... I feel like getting reps with them now is definitely going to help us moving forward.”
Late in the first quarter, Devin Vassell added one of the game’s best highlights. He faked a routine layup, stayed in the air and spun under the basket for a reverse finish that brought the Spurs bench to its feet. Vassell ended with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
After halftime, Harper took over. With Wembanyama sitting the entire second half, the second-year guard scored 14 straight points to open the third quarter, including a perfect 3-for-3 stretch from deep. That run pushed him into the spotlight and showed off the scoring burst that has been building for him.
“Throughout the year last year, (Harper's 3-point shooting) was just incrementally improving," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "He's a ridiculously talented young player who has really matured and really started to build a foundation of habits.”
By the time the third quarter reached the 6:30 mark after a timeout, Harper had outscored the Kings by himself, 14-13. He reached 19 points, moved past Fox’s 16 and led the Spurs in scoring for the third time this preseason.
With the game long out of hand, San Antonio turned the fourth quarter over to its draftees, including Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Tarris Reed Jr. and Maliq Brown. Gillespie made the most of the opportunity, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range and finishing with 11 points.
Reed also stood out on the glass. He grabbed eight rebounds, tying Wembanyama and Carter Bryant for the team lead.
Wembanyama finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 minutes. As a team, the Spurs dominated the boards 63-38, including 20 offensive rebounds, and took 51 3-pointers, making 17 of them for 33 percent.
The win ended San Antonio’s preseason on a two-game streak after dropping its first three exhibition games. The Spurs will open the 2026-27 season against the Oklahoma City Thunder next Tuesday in the first of three regular-season matchups.
Tipoff from Frost Bank Center is set for 8:30 p.m. Central on NBC.
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Castle already has the Rookie of the Year hardware from 2024-25, Harper landed on the All-Rookie first team, and Bryant is expected to take another step in his second season. For a franchise that has made no secret of its long-term approach, this kind of roster housekeeping matters because it shows the Spurs are not just collecting prospects, they are committing to a core they believe can grow together. [Read more 🡒]
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Around the team, the expectation is that Wembanyamas development will not only make him more complete, but also help the Spurs raise the level of everyone around him. Coaches and teammates have stressed the value of his vocal leadership, and the organization plans to lean into his defensive ability while still trying to preserve the identity it wants to build for the season ahead. [Read more 🡒]