NBA: Spurs beat Pistons in a game between two teams on a roll

Behind a dominant performance from Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons 114-103 on Monday in a pulsating game between two of the NBA's most in-form teams.

These were the highlights of the day in the basketball league.

Wembanyama, an insurmountable wall

Second in the Western Conference, the Spurs offered a true demonstration of power by conquering the Pistons, current leaders of the East.

The game, the first between the two this season, was marked by defensive intensity, a common trait in these two reborn franchises that just two years ago occupied the bottom of the league table.

In San Antonio, Frenchman Victor Wembanyama once again emerged as a decisive force on both ends of the court. The center scored 21 points, captured 17 rebounds -8 of them on defense- and added 6 blocks in another dominant performance. At 22 years old, Wemby has already managed to put up at least one block against each of the other 29 NBA franchises.

On offense, the Texans shined especially from the perimeter, hitting 18 of their 40 three-point shots (45%).

Devin Vassell led the outside offense with seven three-pointers and closed the night as the top scorer with 28 points. "They tried to impose their game. We tried to run in transition, keep slowing them down, find the open man. That's what we did," Vassell stated.

Cade Cunningham, the Pistons' star, had an uninspired night on offense: he scored just 16 points and missed 21 of 25 shots from the field.

San Antonio, which picked up its ninth straight win, improves its record to 41-16 and continues to put pressure on the West's leaders, the Oklahoma City Thunder (44-14), impacted by the loss of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Detroit (42-14), meanwhile, saw its streak of five straight wins cut short, although it maintains a five-game lead over its main pursuers, the Boston Celtics.

Kings put an end to their worst losing streak ever

After stringing together 16 losses, the Sacramento Kings finally saw the light Monday with a 123-114 win against the Memphis Grizzlies, another of the West's struggling teams.

Veterans Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan stepped up with 25 and 19 points, respectively, guiding Sacramento to end its worst streak in history.

The Kings, still without star players Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine due to injury, remain at the bottom of the West with the league's worst record (13-46).

In Memphis, eleventh in the same sector (21-35), the top scorer was reserve point guard Javon Small, who contributed 21 points.

The Grizzlies entered the game with eight players sidelined, including Ja Morant and Spain’s Santi Aldama.