Fresh off 52 points, Wembanyama leads Spurs into Sacramento

Victor Wembanyama heads to Sacramento off a career night: 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks in a 112-111 win over Dallas on 4 November, sealed by his own free throw with 24.2 seconds left. It was San Antonio's sixth straight win, and the 6-2 Spurs now open NBA Cup group play against a Kings side that is 1-7.

That Dallas win was not clean. The Spurs led by 19 early in the third quarter, fell behind 103-100 late, and held on only when Kyrie Irving missed a contested jumper in the final seconds.

Sacramento's problems run deeper. The Kings give up 123.3 points a game, 29th in the league, and are without Keegan Murray (ankle) and Maxime Raynaud (knee), with Ben Simmons out for the season with an Achilles injury. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. has been the bright spot at 25.6 points a game.

The last meeting was one-sided: San Antonio won 130-103 on 27 October, with Wembanyama scoring 29 and matching a career high with nine dunks. Former Kings guard De'Aaron Fox, averaging 15.1 points and 6.1 assists for the Spurs, faces his old club again. San Antonio, beaten by the Knicks in both last season's Cup final and the NBA Finals, starts another Cup run here.

The market prices the Spurs at 90% to win. After a 19-point lead vanished against Dallas, is that right for a road game against a 1-7 team, or still too cautious?