Coming off a tough loss against the Denver Nuggets, the Spurs faced the Charlotte Hornets in a Saturday afternoon affair. Victor Wembanyama returned from ankle soreness, but Dylan Harper was ruled out with a calf injury. After Charlotte held a 13-10 lead early, the Spurs embarked on an 18-0 run and outscored the Hornets 31-24 in the first quarter. The Spurs continued to buckle down defensively and led the Hornets by 13 at halftime. The Hornets started to show life and outscored the Spurs 37-32 in the third,
but Wemby and the Spurs limited the Hornets to just 19 points in the fourth. San Antonio held the Hornets to 38% from the field, and won 115-102.
Victor Wembanyama led the way with a double-double: 32 points (13-24 FG, 5-10 3PT) and 12 rebounds to go along with eight assists, four blocks, and two steals. A Spurs team without Wemby is solid, but with Wemby, they are deadly. Coby White and Moussa Diabate both attempted to shoot over Wemby early in the game, and both got a reality check. On offense, Wemby shot 54% from the field and 50% from deep. He was also a monster on the boards and dropped dimes from left to right (two away from a triple-double). He wanted to correct one of his least effective performances the last time these two teams faced off. As the playoffs appear close, the anticipation appears even closer for Wemby to make his playoff debut.
REJECTED! Wemby rejects Diabate’s shot attempt, Diabate rebounds and tries again to no avail!
POSTER! Wemby posts up Grant Williams and then dribbles past him for a poster slam!
FRENCH VANILLA! Wemby sets a ghost screen, catches the pass, and scoops up a lob for a cutting Luke Kornet who throws it down! Luke finished with 10 points (4-4FG, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, and a dime.
AREA 51 PT 1! Stephon Castle lobs up a perfect pass to a cutting Wemby, who finishes at the rim for the alley-oop!
De’Aaron Fox dropped 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block. Fox did not have the most efficient game, but still managed to make his shots count. Fox was also able to disrupt passing lanes for three stocks sneakily. Because of the injury to Harper, Fox played 35 minutes. He shared the floor with Castle to start, but was in and out of the lineup so that one of the star guards could command the offense. The two-time all-star has started every game he has played this season, and he’ll look to finish the rest of the season on a high note.
TOO QUICK! On the fastbreak, Fox catches LaMelo Ball off balance and finishes through contact for a craft and-one!
Passing vision upgraded! Fox feeds a nice bounce pass to a backdoor cutting Carter Bryant, who slams it down! CB finished with eight points, four rebounds, and a dime.
Another cut, another slam! Fox attacks multiple Hornets and finds an open CB cutting to the basket for another monster jam!
Stephon Castle dropped a double-double: 15 points (4-4 FT) and 10 assists to go along with seven rebounds and a steal. Shooting just under 50% from the field and having six turnovers, Steph made his impact playmaking and on the defensive end. Steph was guarding multiple Hornets guards and helped limit Brandon Miller to six points on 2-14 shooting. He also got Ball in foul trouble. Just like Fox, Steph played a heavy minute load but also got into foul trouble in the fourth. Nonetheless, Steph finished with the highest plus/minus with +22.
SPIN CYCLE AND-ONE! Steph shook Miller with a smooth spin move and finished through contact for the and-one finish off the glass!
FLIGHT NUMBER FIVE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF! Steph crosses over Ball and drives towards the basket for a two-handed slam between two defenders!
AREA 51 PT 2! This time, Wemby returns the favor to Steph on the lob, and Steph finishes reverse style!
All in all, this was a solid bounce-back win and a solid revenge win against a rising Hornets team. Wemby was otherworldly and helped the rest of the team force Charlotte into one of their worst shooting performances of the season. Everyone else contributed in spurts to stretch the Hornets’ defense to the point where they were caught ball-watching. The ball movement continues to move at an elite pace, and with Dylan back sometime this week, it will continue to tire out other defenses. One win away from 50, this young team continues to exceed expectations.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
The Spurs travel to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Clippers this Monday at 9:00 P.M. (CST) on Peacock/KENS.
