SAN ANTONIO —
Recap
Fourth quarter
San Antonio opened the final period with a 7-0 run to take the lead, as Derrick White opened the quarter with a three for the fourth time in the game, then drove in for a tough layup.
DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay each hit a shot, Dejounte Murray drilled a three, but Charlotte corrected their cold stretch as the quarter went on. They had a six-point lead when Derrick pumped in the corner, let the defender fly past, and drilled it to halve the lead.
San Antonio got a stop and a board, and DeMar DeRozan drove in, got fouled, threw up a floater that hit nothing but the bottom, then drilled the free throw to tie.
Terry Rozier stepped back and drained a three. DeRozan spun in, wanted a foul but didn't get it. Rozier had a golden opportunity at the rim, but missed. Gay got an open triple, but missed.
Needing a stop, Derrick White jumped in for a steal on Hayward and drew a foul in the bonus, and hit both free throws to make it 96-95 Hornets with 22 seconds left.
Charlotte was able to execute down the stretch and seal a 100-97 win.
Third quarter
Derrick White opened the third quarter the same way he opened the first two: by drilling a three-point shot. Then he drove and kicked to Keldon Johnson who hit a high-arcing three and didn't try to hide the happiness on his face afterward. DeMar DeRozan hit a mid-range jumper to cut it to four.
Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier pushed it back to 9, then Dejounte Murray hit an in-between pull-up. The first half of the third quarter was a defensive battle, 10-7 Spurs through six minutes.
DeRozan hit a tough jumper after creating space, then Rudy Gay nailed a triple, and San Antonio's deficit was two before Hayward answered. DeRozan came back down the other end and drove in, pulling up just outside the restricted area and popping it in.
Patty Mills drained San Antonio's fourth three in eight tries in the quarter, but Hayward answered again with another triple, giving him 23 points. He finished the quarter with a game-high 25 points.
Charlotte led 74-69 with a quarter to play.
Second quarter
San Antonio opened the second quarter with a bucket from Rudy Gay in the post and a few hard-earned stops, forcing multiple shot clock violations.
Derrick White caught open at the arc, knocking down his second three of the game, cutting the deficit down to five.
Rudy pulled off a step-back jumper jumping off his opponent's foot, and he hit the shot and the free throw. After that, the team defense forced an 8-second violation for another turnover.
Gay got it in the post, Patty Mills came by for an easy dribble handoff, and Patty drained it. That made it an 11-2 run to open the second quarter, and Charlotte called timeout with their 11-point lead cut down to just one.
Dejounte Murray drove in for a layup, then ripped a steal, but the sloppy transition break ended with no points. The Hornets hit a few threes and extended their lead back to 7, as Pop called another timeout.
A few 50-50 balls went Charlotte's way, and their shots hit nothing but twine while San Antonio's mainly hit front rim. They built their lead back out to 12 before Keldon Johnson took it all the way in with a nice crossover, finishing with the left. DeMar DeRozan got to the line and cut it to single digits.
PJ Washington crammed a dunk, then swatted his college teammate Keldon on the other end with time expiring. The Spurs trailed 55-45 at the break.
First quarter
Derrick White missed all eight of his attempts from three in the previous game, but started this one with a corner three. San Antonio's offense struggled to find a rhythm after that, but they were able to take a 14-13 lead thanks to stout interior defense.
San Antonio got to know why they call Scary Terry that, as Rozier drew a foul on a three, then ripped a steal and drew a clear-path foul. He lobbed for a dunk in transition, then pulled up early in the clock for three, and a quick 13-1 run gave Charlotte a 28-17 lead.
After a timeout, Lonnie Walker IV drove in for an acrobatic layup through contact. Patty Mills jumped a passing lane for a steal, then found Lonnie who got it to Devin Vassell for free throws. Charlotte led 31-21 after a quarter behind 9 points from Rozier.
Pregame
When, where: Monday, 7:30 p.m., San Antonio
All-time series record: Spurs lead 44-17
Last season: Spurs won 2-0
Season series: Spurs lead, 1-0
Last meeting: Spurs won 122-110, February 14, 2021
Hornets' last game: Lost vs. Clippers, 125-98
Spurs' last game: Lost vs. Bucks, 120-113
Hornets' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, lost 3
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, lost 1
Hornets' injury/inactive report: LaMelo Ball: OUT (wrist); Cody Zeller: OUT (shoulder); Terry Rozier: probable (hip).
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Keita Bates-Diop, OUT (hamstring).
The Spurs are ready for their longest homestand in team history, taking on a Charlotte Hornets team that just lost Rookie of the Year frontrunner LaMelo Ball for the rest of the season due to a broken wrist.
"They don't have any choice, when you lose guys you've gotta go play and figure it out," said Gregg Popovich, before he complimented his former assistant James Borrego, now at the helm in Charlotte.
"JB's very creative, wonderful coach, understands the game, he'll be flexible, he'll figure out what he needs to do to carry on and be in that playoff picture," he said.
Lonnie Walker scored a career-high 31 points, DeMar DeRozan added 22 points and 13 assists, but it wasn't enough as the shorthanded Spurs fell to the Bucks 120-113.
San Antonio led by 14 in the first half and kept the game close until the final minutes, taking a brief lead near the end of the third, but when you play against Giannis in Milwaukee on short rest without two key players, those games are seldom won.
After the game, coach Gregg Popovich, Walker, and Keldon Johnson all said that they liked the fight the team showed in the game given the circumstances and emphasized that this young team still has plenty of room to grow.
"It's a heck of an interesting and enjoyable group. This is the fifth game in seven nights, and a couple of important guys didn't play, but it doesn't matter," Pop said. "They all come to compete, getting better all the time, and as I told them after the game they have more room to improve than a lot of teams because they're still learning an awful lot about what it takes to win games."