SACRAMENTO, Calif. – San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama added his 10th assist to Devin Vassell with 2:49 remaining on Sunday, sealing his third career triple-double in his club’s 127-125 comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The victory and the latest career milestone made up for a slow start for Wembanyama, who had 14 rebounds and 11 assists on a night in which the Spurs broke the franchise record in a single game with 23 three-pointers made achieved the highest game value of 34 points.

“In terms of my own performance, I would say adaptability,” Wembanyama said. “I think we’ve aligned pretty well with their scouting report. The triple-double is just a byproduct of the right decisions.”

Wembanyama joined David Robinson (4), Dejounte Murray (3) and Alvin Robertson as the only players in Spurs franchise history to record 30-point triple-doubles. The 20-year-old hit 5 of 9 from 3-point range and recorded three blocks. He became only the third player in NBA history, joining James Harden and Vince Carter, to record a 30-point triple-double with five 3-pointers and more than 3 blocks, according to ESPN Research.

Wembanyama also became the first Spur to hit five three-pointers in a triple-double performance, making him and DeMarcus Cousins ​​the only centers ever to record such numbers in a single game.

Still, Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson didn’t mince his words when describing Wembanyama’s performance early in a game in which San Antonio conceded 25 points on 16 turnovers.

The Frenchman was responsible for a total of five of these giveaways.

“I thought he had some very poor moments in the first three quarters as far as fundamentals and solid basketball, and that’s a testament to him and his ability to come through,” Johnson explained. “In the fourth quarter I thought he was a man. I thought he dominated. For him to dominate the fundamentals – the catches, the passes, the solid stuff – that’s still spectacular. But if he manages to do that, he’ll be a liability.”

Wembanyama committed four of his turnovers in the first three quarters of a game. Sacramento led by as many as 17 points. During that span, the second-year pro hit all five of his three-point shots. But in the final frame, Wembanyama came into play and helped San Antonio to another win in the deciding game.

With 5:00 minutes left to play, the score was tied at 111. In the fourth quarter alone, Wembanyama scored 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and two blocks.

Wembanyama has drawn a lot of criticism this season for being a 7-footer who is moving from the wing to a more perimeter-oriented game. But both Johnson and teammate Harrison Barnes, a former Sacramento King, encouraged viewers to think about the diversity of Wembanyama’s style and how he keeps opponents guessing.

“It’s his greatest strength,” Johnson said, “and sometimes players may need to grow or learn from it. He can do everything. “So when you have so many options on the menu, you have to think about it.” It’s difficult to make the right choice every time. And he’s a young player learning to use all the weapons he has. Therefore, there is great faith and support for him as he learns when and where to use all these weapons. And I think just constantly holding yourself accountable for the basic things will allow those things to fall off the page.

Barnes mentioned that he receives a lot of questions about his new Spurs teammate and hears “so much criticism” about his overall shooting diet.

“And my thing is, look, he’s going to play his style and he’s going to do it his way tonight, where he’s patrolling the area defensively, but then offensively he’s able to score, able to “Be able to recover and do all these different things,” he said. “It may not be exactly the form people want or expect it to be in. But he’s going to do it his way, and his biggest thing is that he wants to win. That’s his north star. That’s what motivates him.” . That’s what makes him special.”

However, Wembanyama admitted that finding the best ways to attack opponents at both ends of the pitch was “an everyday battle”. Wembanyama and point guard Chris Paul (13 points, 10 assists) each posted double-doubles of points and assists in Sunday’s contest. It was the third time in the last 30 seasons that San Antonio finished with multiple players scoring at least 10 points and 10 assists in the same game.

Wembanyama wants more. So it’s no surprise that he wants to stick to his routine, constantly reaching out to the San Antonio film room staff to look for ways to improve.

After going 13-28 in the final games of last season, San Antonio now has a record of 5-3 in such scenarios.

“I personally like pulling a lot of content from the video room, and they do a great job of targeting specific areas and specific types of games that we need to get better at,” Wembanyama said. “That’s something I’ve really enjoyed so far this season. Every time they gave me advice or content to watch, it was very targeted and it worked. Tonight we took a step forward as a team. “I’ve tried to defend differently all season and we responded better tonight to a certain type of defense that we’ve been using for a few games fight had determination is the most important thing and not I just watch the tape to see it.