Terry Rozier poured in 24 points and all five Charlotte starters scored in double figures as the visiting Hornets cruised to a 129-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.
The Hornets never trailed in the game, leading by 21 points at halftime and by 23 after three quarters on the way to a dominating win. Charlotte was never seriously challenged despite playing without All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, who missed the game due to an ankle injury.
Both teams finished 10th in their conference last season and lost in the first game of the play-in tournament, but Charlotte showed how much further along it is than San Antonio in the teams’ rebuilding timelines.
Gordon Hayward scored 20 points and Nick Richards added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Hornets. P.J. Washington hit for 17, Kelly Oubre Jr. racked up 13 and Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee contributed 12 points each.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones scored 14 points apiece, Doug McDermott added 12 off the bench, Devin Vassell put up 11 and Joshua Primo had 10 points.
The Hornets took control early, building a 38-22 lead after the first quarter via a 12-0 run to end the period. Charlotte outshot the Spurs 55.2 percent to 39.1 percent over the first 12 minutes.
Charlotte expanded the lead to 63-38 on two Hayward free throws with 4:24 to play in the second period before the Spurs mounted a mini rally to pull within 68-47 at the break.
Rozier paced all scorers with 13 points over the first two quarters with Richards adding 12, Hayward scoring 11 and Oubre adding 10 for the Hornets. McDermott led San Antonio with 12 points in the half, with Poeltl adding 10 and Johnson grabbing eight rebounds before halftime.
San Antonio pulled within 12 points after Poeltl’s reverse layup with 6:39 to play in the third quarter before the Hornets reasserted themselves. Charlotte ran off the final 13 points of the period to carry a 98-75 lead into the final 12 minutes.
–Field Level Media
