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Hornets Fall to Spurs In Highly Anticipated Matchup

The Hornets lose 76-68 in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Austin Leake|
Hornets Fall to Spurs In Highly Anticipated Matchup
Hornets Fall to Spurs In Highly Anticipated Matchup

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Charlotte HornetsSan Antonio Spurs

Las Vegas, NV - One of the most exciting matchups in Summer League history ends in a defeat for the Charlotte Hornets. It's just the first of many matchups between Miller and Wembanyama, but Brandon Miller got the best of Wembanyama tonight, which was very encouraging for Hornets fans.

Brandon Miller recorded 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals on 5-15 shooting from the field and 3-10 on three-pointers.

Victor Wembanyama recorded 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks on 2-13 shooting from the field and 1-6 on three-pointers.

For the Hornets, the game got started with a Brandon Miller three as he looked more comfortable early on. Miller knocked down two threes in the first quarter. After the Brandon Miller three to start the game, the Hornets missed their next 13 shots. 

Miller and Bryce McGowens recorded 10 of the Hornets first 12 first quarter points. Trevon Scott also received his first summer league minutes for the Hornets as he started the game for Charlotte. Scott scored just two points in 17 minutes of play. 

The player everyone was waiting to see (Victor Wembanyama) started off very slow as he missed his first three shots (including a dunk) before eventually scoring on a turnaround shot at the 7:02 mark in the first quarter. Both Miller and Wembanyama failed to reach double-digits in the first half. 

For the Spurs Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham stole the show as they combined for 37 points. Blake Wesley and Dominick Barlow also added 25 more points for the San Antonio Spurs. They were very important pieces in the win over the Hornets. 

It was an overall rough night for Wembanyama as he even received boos from the fans in the second half. He also seemed to have lost almost all of his confidence in his shot as you can see below. 

Brandon Miller struggled shooting the ball tonight for the Hornets, but did a much better job being aggressive to getting his shot. His defensive tenacity was also very encouraging and only recorded just five fouls. Overall, it was a positive night for Miller and the best performance for him in the summer league thus far. 

The highlight of the night was when Kai Jones reached out for a lob and dunked right on the #1 pick. The play has already erupted all over social media. 

Notes:

James Bouknight struggled in the first half as he went scoreless, but rebounded to score 14 points in the second half. 

The Hornets first-round pick Nick Smith Jr had a rough night tonight with just 4 points on 2-10 shooting.

The Hornets shot a horrendous 5-32 from three and 29.9% from the field. 

Top performers:

Hornets:

Brandon Miller: 16 points 11 rebounds 3 steals 1 block

James Bouknight: 14 points 9 rebounds 

Bryce McGowens: 15 points 2 blocks 1 assist 

Spurs:

Julian Champagnie: 20 points 8 rebounds 6 assists

Malaki Branham: 17 points 5 rebounds 3 assists

Dominick Barlow: 12 points 9 rebounds 4 assists

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Austin Leake
AUSTIN LEAKE

Austin Leake is a graduate of High Point University, where he majored in sports media, minored in social media marketing, and continued his education in the CBL Master's Program. Austin has covered the Hornets since 2017 and joined the Charlotte Hornets On SI in June of 2022. His coverage primarily features game previews and recaps, monthly mailbags, and more.

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