Sluggish Spurs Stung by Hornets in Season-Opening Loss
The San Antonio Spurs opened up the 2022-23 season against the LaMelo Ball-less Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night at the AT&T Center. Sporting some slick 50th anniversary jerseys, the Spurs began a rebuilding year by honoring the past, as San Antonio legend Manu Ginobili was recognized for his Hall of Fame induction at halftime.
But these Spurs hardly looked like the championship-winning teams of the past. Despite a furious comeback in the third quarter, it was poor shooting and an overall lack of offensive consistency that plagued the Spurs in a 129-102 season-opening blowout loss at home. San Antonio shot an abysmal 7-34 from 3-point range and committed 15 turnovers.
Charlotte was led by guard Terry Rozier with 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Keldon Johnson posted a double-double in the season opener, leading the Spurs with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 3-7 shooting from deep.
The Spurs stumbled out to a 25-14 deficit in the first quarter and couldn't buy a bucket.
On the positive side of things, San Antonio wasn't hesitant to let it fly from deep in the first quarter, but the rim wasn't in agreement -- until Doug McDermott entered the fold.
Right off the bench, the veteran sharpshooter effortlessly hit back-to-back 3s to cut Charlotte's lead to 25-20 with three minutes left in the first. Still, these were the only 3-point makes for San Antonio in the first 12 minutes along with seven turnovers as the Spurs trailed 38-22 through one.
But it was 10 points apiece from Kelly Oubre, Nick Richards, and Rozier helped ignite Charlotte to an 8-0 run and 23-point lead midway through the second quarter.
This lead ballooned to as large as 25, a deficit the Spurs eventually cut to 18. A deep 3-pointer by Rozier in the closing seconds of the half made gave Charlotte a 68-47 lead headed into the locker room.
At the half, Rozier led all scorers with 13 points while McDermott led the Spurs with 12 points off the bench. Jakob Poeltl added 10 points and six rebounds.
But despite the huge deficit, the Spurs were hot coming out of the locker room. Three 3s from Johnson made it a 85-75 lead midway through the third, but that the was closest San Antonio would get, as a 13-0 Hornets run to close the quarter left any comeback hopes in the dust.
A brutal closing period saw the Spurs get outscored 31-27 but trailed by as many as 35, as coach Gregg Popovich unloaded his bench.
San Antonio falls to 0-1 to begin the year and will visit the Indiana Pacers on Friday for the first road game of the season.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Spurs? Click Here.
Follow Inside the Spurs on Twitter.
Follow Inside the Spurs on Facebook.
