Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images The Spurs dominated in game 1 of Victor Wembanyama’s homecoming. The San Antonio Spurs demolished the Indiana Pacers in Paris’ packed Accor Arena. Victor Wembanyama, Harrison Barnes and Devin Vassell combined for 31 of 44 baskets, and the defense neutered the Pacers into one of their worst offensive showings of the season. “There’s certain games you know you don’t need to get the guys up for, as we say,” coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. “This was one of them. If anything, probably was expecting a little bit of chaos in the first five or six minutes…” The Spurs were playing much faster than usual in the first quarter, but went up 30-29 as Wembanyama and Vassell’s jump shots were on target, and the rest of the team made six of 14 shots. Their biggest problem was stopping Tyrese Haliburton from maneuvering to his sweet spots and preventing his teammates from breaking into the paint. But they were off to a slow start in the second quarter as the Pacers raised their physicality. They missed their first three attempts and two Stephon Castle pick-sixes put the Spurs down five as coach Mitch Johnson called an early timeout. Then Wembanyama’s gravity opened up shooting pockets and driving lanes for teammates, and he made another shot at the heart of the defense plus downed a 3-pointer. Four Spurs made multiple field goals in the quarter and the team shot 62 percent. But they committed four more turnovers and on defense, were unable to contain Andrew Nembhard and Haliburton on the dribble or stop the hit ahead pass. At halftime, the Spurs were up 60-57. Both teams were tied in points in the paint (26) and in second-chance points (4), but the Spurs had the edge in fastbreak, scoring 13-8. On top of that, Jeremy Sochan, who returned from a back injury, Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones made 10 of 17 shots off the bench before intermission. Then, in a complete reversal of their last three games, which all turned into blowout losses while allowing 40+ points to their opponent, the Spurs were the ones who came out of the break with bad intentions, making four of five baskets, raising the lead to eight and forcing a Pacers timeout. That didn’t matter as Wembanyama kept denying the Pacers at the rim, and the team added five more triples to create an avalanche. The fourth quarter started with the Spurs ahead 105-80. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle kept his last starters in until there were four-and-a-half minutes left. The Spurs never had their lead cut below 21 points in the quarter as their offense kept rolling. The Spurs won 140-110. They outscored the Pacers in three key areas: points in the paint 66-54, fastbreak points 34-10, and second-chance points 18-13. Chris Paul said it felt like an All-Star Game before tipoff. “Our team hasn’t really had the opportunity to play in those big-time games… the more we can get these types of games and get that sort of playoff feel, it’s better for our team.” After the game, Wembanyama was asked how he wanted to be remembered in his career. He said, “As somebody who didn’t take shortcuts… [a] loyal person, and hard-working but also innovative.” The play of the game Wemby got the ball back after he missed it, broke into lane, and lobbed it to himself for the slam. OFF THE BACKBOARD pic.twitter.com/8B5BiR4mYZ— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2025 Game Notes Jeremy Sochan played well as the backup center when Wemby sat. When they shared the floor, Sochan was a cutter plus lob threat. He finished with 13 points on six of nine attempts, with nine rebounds, three assists and one turnovers in 17 minutes. After the game, Johnson said Sochan and Jones helped change the dynamic by controlling the pace and playing well on defense. Vassell had his top game of the season with 25 points on 69.2 percent shooting. He scored from a long and mid-range on the catch and dribble and got after it on defense by intercepting two passes and blocking two shots. The Spurs took over in the third quarter, scoring 45 points on 73 percent shooting. Barnes helped get things started and had 10 points on immaculate shooting in the period. The Spurs’ offense was in the half-court 77.1 percent of the time. They scored 109.9 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 84th percentile. While in transition, they scored at a rate of 171.4 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 92nd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Wembanyama was a defensive menace. He had five blocks, forced a few pass outs and was the main reason Indiana only took 10 shots at the rim. The Pacers were also powerless to stop his long jumper and actions in the paint. This was the Spurs’ highest-scoring and most efficient night of the season in field goal percentage (60.4 percent) and offensive rating (134.6). Additionally, it was the second-largest blowout of the year after the 36-point win over the Clippers on Dec. 31. The Spurs took a season low in free-throw attempts (6), but made all of them. As a result, they became just the third team in NBA history to have a 60/50/100 shooting night. In the win @spurs became just the 3rd team in @NBA history to shoot 60%+ from the field, 50%+ from the 3-point line, & 100% from the foul line joining OKC in November 2023 & Golden State in December 2017. #danalytics— Dan Weiss (@DanWeissPBP) January 23, 2025