Victor Wembanyama returns as Spurs hold off Hornets
Victor Wembanyama racked up 32 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots in his return to lead the host San Antonio Spurs to a 115-102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday as two of the hottest teams in the NBA clashed.
De'Aaron Fox added 17 points for the Spurs, with Stephon Castle adding 15 points with 10 assists. Keldon Johnson scored 13 points and Luke Kornet contributed 10 for San Antonio.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 22 points while Kon Knueppel scored 20, Coby White had 18 off the bench and LaMelo Ball added 17 for the Hornets, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The Spurs are now 17-2 since the start of February, while the Hornets fell to 8-3 since Feb. 22.
The Spurs led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and 13 at halftime before heading into the fourth quarter up 91-83. Bridges' 3-pointer with 9:33 left brought Charlotte to within four points before San Antonio reeled off the next 12 points to expand its advantage to 104-88 with 6:05 remaining.
The Hornets were unable to chalenge down the stretch, with Wembanyama's fifth 3-pointer of the game coming with 1:12 remaining to seal the victory and get San Antonio's back on track after a loss on Thursday to Denver when Wembanyama was out with ankle soreness.
San Antonio used an 18-0 run, capped by two free throws by Barnes, in building an early 28-13 lead. The Hornets missed 13 consecutive shots during the Spurs' surge before pulling within 31-24 after one quarter.
The Spurs were up 46-28 five minutes into the second quarter and finished the first half with an 8-0 run to take a 59-46 advantage into the break. Wembanyama had 18 points and eight rebounds before halftime for the Spurs while Fox added 10. Ball had 11 points for the Hornets in the first half.
Knueppel tried to shoot Charlotte back into the game in the third period, making three 3-pointers as part of his 17 points in the quarter as the Hornets cut San Antonio's lead to 82-73.