San Antonio Spurs (51-19) beat Sacramento Kings (18-52) 132-104 on the road on Tuesday, March 17. The final margin was 28 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 39-22 and a 17-point lead after one. The Spurs kept the pressure on with a 39-25 second quarter, carrying a 31-point lead into halftime.
The teams matched each other with 34 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Spurs remained ahead by 31 entering the fourth. The Kings took the fourth 23-20; the Spurs held on for a 132-104 regulation win.
Why it was lopsided
The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 65.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 51.6% for the Kings. The Spurs took better care of the ball, turning it over on 6% of possessions compared with 7.9% for the Kings. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
At roughly 100 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 131.7 points per 100 possessions to 103.8 for the Kings.
The Spurs' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 55-21.
Who stood out
Maxime Raynaud was the game's biggest individual force for SAC: 32 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast on 13-25 shooting. His Game Score of 22 led everyone. His team was -22 with him on the floor.
De'Aaron Fox led the Spurs with 15 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast on 5-10 shooting, good for a 16.7 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Spurs about a 83% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, San Antonio Spurs lead 4-2.
The Spurs are now 51-19, and the Kings are 18-52. The Spurs last five before this game: W-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.