Indiana Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs Prediction, Preview, and Odds
On Sunday night, the Indiana Pacers head to the Frost Bank Center for a road meeting against the San Antonio Spurs. The Pacers got cranked by the New Orleans Pelicans. The Spurs upset the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night. The tip is at 8:10 PM ET. Indiana opens as a road favorite.
Wembanyama Dominates the Fourth
Entering the game as 11-point underdogs, the San Antonio Spurs and rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama persevere with a 132-118 home win. Wembanyama had 28 points and 12 rebounds and Devin Vassell also scored 28 points in the huge win.
Wembanyama added seven assists, five blocks, and two assists while shooting 9 for 17 from the field and 5 for 7 on 3-pointers while playing the entire fourth quarter. He is the first player in NBA history with 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks, and five 3-pointers in a game. “It’s a lot of mental,” Wembanyama said “You know Kobe (Bryant, the late Los Angeles Lakers star) said to win a game, it mostly takes shots, big shots, because they don’t call like any fouls. It’s not as much the physical battle. Even though in defense it’s 90 percent effort, but offensively it’s a lot of mental.” Wembanyama had back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 3 minutes and blocked a Chet Holmgren shot attempt to seal the win for the 12-win Spurs. The season ended a long time ago for the Spurs, but they have high hopes for next season with Wembanyama leading the show.
Pacers Cranked in New Orleans
The Indiana Pacers served up 48 first-quarter points to the New Orleans Pelicans, getting run out of the building 129-102. Coming off a 123-114 loss in Indianapolis on Wednesday night, the Pelicans were 20 of 22 from the field in the first quarter in racing to a 48-26 lead. The 90.9% shooting was the highest field-goal percentage by any team in a quarter this season and the highest percentage in a first quarter by any team since Dallas shot 94% in a 2014 game against Utah. “The Pelicans put up historic numbers, and we did not get a defensive rebound (in the first quarter),” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I have not heard of that happening.”
Isaiah Jackson and Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 13 points each. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner had 12 each. Tyrese Haliburton went scoreless for the first time since November 2021. Haliburton was 0 for 7 from the field in 23 minutes. The Pacers held New Orleans scoreless for over five minutes during a 23-3 run in the second period that cut the lead to 60-49. But the Pelicans regained their footing with a 17-7 run to close out the quarter. They get the Spurs next.
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Rating:
Victor Wembanyama had a memorable finish against one of the best clubs in the Western Conference, hitting three late triples and blocking a shot to seal the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He ended just three assists shy of getting another triple-double and chipped in with five blocks. Surprisingly, this was the 16th time Wembanyama recorded five or more swats in a game, and his two-way impact was noticeable as soon as he stepped on the court. The Spurs are going nowhere this season, but Wembanyama regularly fills the stat sheet. He will have a huge game again but do not expect the Spurs to duplicate Thursday’s performance. Take them to cover, but the Pacers will win.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs ATS
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Rating:
The Spurs and Pacers are in the top five in pace heading into this inter-conference battle. Devin Vassell has done a good job while operating as San Antonio's second-best offensive weapon. Vassell is on a run of three straight games with 20 or more points, and he has reached that tally in five of his last seven appearances. His scoring prowess and overall offensive ability make him a reliable asset if the Spurs decide to keep him around next year. Indiana is second in offensive efficiency, and combined with San Antonio buried at the bottom defensively (24th in defensive rating), they will put up a crooked number. Expect both teams to score a ton and this game to go over.
Prediction: OVER
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