Victor Wembanyama has a scoring duel, Cooper Flagg starts as point guard

On Tuesday night there was a private duel between Victor Wembanyama and Bennedict Mathurin during the San Antonio Spurs’ preseason game at the Indiana Pacers. The Frenchman and his team retained the upper hand with 124:108, although Mathurin remained almost perfect.

In the first loss of the preseason for the Pacers (2-1), their guard was unstoppable. In just 23 minutes he scored 31 points for the Texans and remained almost unscathed from the field with 11/12 FG. Mathurin hit each of his four attempts from the three-point line and also remained perfect at the free throw line with 5 hits from 5 attempts.

The 23-year-old conjured up a perfect first half on the floor and scored 12 of the Pacers’ first 14 points. At the break he already had 27 points with 9/9 FG. However, the Spurs brought their own exceptional talent with them to Indianapolis.

Wembanyama has become “significantly stronger”.

Thanks to 27 points (9/13 FG), 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, the guests held their breath in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “Whether in transition or in the halffield, he will have the ball in his hands in so many different situations,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, explaining the influence of his superstar. “With the attention he attracts, he will also give all the other players free throws.”

In addition to Wembanyama, rookie Dylan Harper scratched out a double-double with 11 points and 8 assists. Rookie of the Year winner Stephon Castle, making his preseason debut, finished the night with 14 points and 4 assists. Newcomer Luke Kornet also contributed 16 points and 7 boards. The Spurs remained undefeated in the preseason (3-0).

“He’s gotten a lot stronger,” Castle said of Wembanyama’s summer. “Because he has another year under his belt, his game IQ has also increased. On top of that, he is more willing to pass the ball. He attracts a lot of attention and has the entire field in view with his size.”

Kidd puts the announced Flagg experiment into practice

Already in the Summer League, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd announced that he would move his number 1 pick Cooper Flagg to the point guard position. In the Mavs’ 114:101 victory on Tuesday night at the Utah Jazz, the former point guard put his announcement into action.

The Mavs coach responded to the loss of D’Angelo Russell by ordering PJ Washington into his team’s starting five, thereby placing the keys of the offense in Flagg’s hands. He finished the game with 11 points, but only hit 3 of his 13 attempts from the field.

There were also 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks – a good all-round performance from the 18-year-old. He also finished the Mavericks’ third preseason game without losing a ball.