Three days off is unusual in the modern NBA, but that’s exactly where the San Antonio Spurs found themselves on Sunday night. The Spurs set off on a West Coast road trip that began in Sacramento to face the Kings. San Antonio showed a little early rust from everything else, but came back in the final three quarters to secure a 127-125 win over the Sacramento Kings to improve to 11-9 on the season.

Thanks to a hot start from the Kings, the Spurs found themselves in a 42-28 hole in the first quarter. Sacramento was aggressive on both ends and had plenty of open shots, while San Antonio struggled to defend them. The Kings shot 70% from the field and 44% from three in the first quarter.

“I didn’t feel a lot of physicality or resistance in defense – they’re obviously a talented team, but we could have done a better job of making them work for some things,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters after the game. “We got it done in the second and fourth quarters and it was a big difference.”

San Antonio rode an offensive push in the next quarter to get back into the game. Julian Champagnie was hot after three goals and Victor Wembanyama came on in the second quarter. Champagnie made four three-pointers in the game and scored a total of 19 points. Offensively, the Spurs received a big boost from the three-point line, where they made 23 shots, a new franchise record.

San Antonio was led by their superstar from deep. Wembanyama hit five three-pointers en route to his third career triple-double. He had 34 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 blocks in the win. He was a force on defense, hitting huge shots down the stretch that kept the Spurs in the lead.

The Kings did their best to keep up with the Spurs’ scoring barrage, especially inside. They outscored San Antonio 30-8 in the first half and 52-28 in the entire game. Sacramento outrebounded the Spurs 51-38 and grabbed a whopping 21 offensive rebounds. Despite winning the physical battle, the Kings couldn’t overcome the Spurs’ shooting quality as they shot 51.2% from the field and 50% from three. Sacramento was led in scoring by DeMar DeRozan with 28 points.

San Antonio trailed most of the game until the fourth quarter. Eight minutes before the end of the game, the Kings received their fifth foul and the Spurs took advantage. San Antonio was 20-24 from the free throw line and hit the necessary shots late in the game.

“I thought our foul was unfortunate,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said.

The Spurs had great performances from their bench in the fourth period. Devin Vassell showed off his shot-making ability on his way to 21 points with an efficient 8-12 shooting from the field. Tre Jones caused chaos on defense and finished the game with 2 steals and 2 blocks along with his 7 points. Jones left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury after Domantas Sabonis hit him with a hard hit. Keldon Johnson made big plays in the game’s closing moments, including a huge offensive rebound (thanks to a tip from Wembanyama) that sealed the game. Johnson had 17 off the bench.

With the game on the line, the Spurs went to the pick-and-roll with Chris Paul and Wembanyama. Paul hit what eventually became the dagger with a huge pull-up three-pointer in the final minutes of the game. He had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. The veteran was crucial to the team’s late-game success. The Spurs are now 5-3 in crucial games this season.

San Antonio will end its road trip on Tuesday with a crucial NBA Cup match against the Phoenix Suns. If Spurs win this game, they will win their group and reach the elimination round of the Cup.