PARIS — (AP) — The first enormous roar from the crowd came before the game even started. All Victor Wembanyama needed to do to get the fans in Paris into a full-blown frenzy was, it turned out, say hello into a microphone.
The cheering just from that lasted about 30 seconds.
Welcome home, Wemby. For the first time as an NBA player, Wembanyama played in his homeland on Thursday — the star attraction in this two-game set of games between San Antonio and Indiana, a series that concludes on Saturday night.
“Tonight was definitely different,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a different kind of support that the crowd brings. We try to use the circumstances to our advantage every time, and tonight was an easy night to use that.”
The sellout crowd wasn’t disappointed. Neither was Wembanyama. He had an incredible game — 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots — and the Spurs rolled to a 140-110 win,San Antonio’s second-largest victory margin of the season …