Victor Wembanyama returns to Paris, dropping 30 points as Spurs crush Pacers with 140-110 win

On Thursday, Victor Wembanyama returned to Paris in style.

The San Antonio Spurs star, who grew up outside of Paris and spent five years playing in the French basketball league, returned to his home country this week with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. With the Paris crowd firmly in his corner, Wembanyama led the Spurs to a dominant 140-110 win over the Pacers in Accor Arena.

The 21-year-old center was greeted by the French home crowd with an appreciative roar.

Wembanyama didn't let that crowd down, putting on a show for his homecoming with a number of key highlights as the Spurs ran up the score.

After trailing the Pacers for most of the first half, the Spurs took the lead just before halftime. From there, San Antonio took off, with the team putting up 45 points in the third quarter alone. An overwhelmed Indiana team couldn't overcome the deficit, and eventually fell apart in the 30-point win.

With the game locked in, Wembanyama and the rest of the starters returned to the bench for the final minutes of the game. As the 21-year-old took a seat, he was greeted with chants of "MVP" from throughout the arena.

Wembanyama finished with an impressive 30-point double-double, with a final stat line of 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.

Veteran San Antonio guard Chris Paul praised Wembanyama's performance postgame, pointing out his success under pressure.

"This is one of the best complete games I’ve seen him play all season long," Paul said. "With the expectations, being at home, in front of all of his family and friends, in front of all you guys, some guys could get lost in the game and start maybe doing too much or not, but I think he played a great game (at) both ends of the court."

Wembanyama has been busy in his return to France. On Tuesday, the young center dedicated two outdoor courts in his hometown of Le Chesnay; on Wednesday, he attended a Champions League game between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, which PSG won 4-2.

And on Thursday, he iced a major win for the struggling Spurs on his home turf.

In a postgame press conference, Wembanyama credited the crowd's energy as a factor in San Antonio's win.

"It's a different kind of support that the crowd brings. We tried to use the circumstances to our advantage every time, and tonight was an easy night to use those in our advantage," he said.

He said that he felt proud to be able to "gather people together like that."

"I felt proud of us, proud of myself, proud of being French," Wembanyama said. "It just confirmed what I thought was gonna happen."

Wembanyama and the Spurs will play one more game against the Pacers in Paris on Saturday, this time as the official home team.