Two teams on the outside of the playoff picture, the San Antonio Spurs and visiting Charlotte Hornets, will clash on Friday as the NBA season heads into its final month.
The Spurs are in 12th in the West, 4 1/2 games behind Dallas for the final spot in the conference play-in tournament with 18 games left to play. Meanwhile, Charlotte is 14th in the East, 11 games and four spots in back of 10th-place Chicago with 17 games left.
San Antonio will play the third matchup of a four-game homestand after beating undermanned Dallas 126-116 on Wednesday to avenge a loss to the Mavericks two nights earlier. De’Aaron Fox pumped in 32 points and distributed 11 assists in Wednesday’s victory, falling one rebound short of a triple-double while producing his most points in a San Antonio uniform after being traded to the Spurs in early February.
However, the Spurs will be without Fox for the remainder of the season, as their newly acquired star will undergo surgery for tendon damage in his left pinkie, per ESPN. Rookie Stephon Castle should take on a larger workload in the backcourt.
Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan each added 18 points off the bench, while Devin Vassell had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Harrison Barnes scored 14 points for the Spurs, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
San Antonio led by just two points at the half but took charge in the third quarter and never let the Mavericks closer than eight points over the final eight-plus minutes. The Spurs played better on the defensive end after faltering on that end two nights earlier.
“You have to be a good defensive team because that’s what you have to hang your hat on,” Fox said. “You could be a really good offensive team but when the ball doesn’t go in that night, what can you do? Those are the teams that struggle. We know we have to be a better defensive team to try to be consistent on the offensive end.”
The Hornets head to the Alamo City after a 123-110 loss at Atlanta that snapped a two-game winning streak. Charlotte has dropped 10 of its past 12 outings and are tied with New Orleans and Washington with a league-low six wins on the road this season.
Miles Bridges paced the Hornets with 31 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss. LaMelo Ball added 25 points and nine assists, and DaQuan Jeffries scored a career-high 20 points. Charlotte trailed by three at the break but surrendered the first 11 points of the third quarter and never got closer than four points early in the final period.
“Sometimes it’s human nature, it’s the game, it’s momentum and it takes the wind out of your sails a little bit when you aren’t getting those stops,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said about the early third-quarter swoon. “I think it was a little bit of shot selection offensively, and defensively not being aware of some leak-outs and defending without fouling.”
Friday’s game is the third of a four-game road trip for Charlotte.
The Hornets won the first clash between the teams this season, a 117-116 victory in Charlotte on Feb. 7.
