The San Antonio Spurs looked discombobulated in their season opener at the AT&T Center, coming up miserably short of the understaffed Charlotte Hornets in an end-to-end bludgeoning. Despite trailing by 35 points in the second half, the good guys rallied to cut the deficit to ten before cracking and relinquishing a massive run down the stretch.
Keldon Johnson paced the Silver and Black with 20 points, 11 boards, and four assists, embracing his newfound role as the de facto primary scoring option with Dejounte Murray moving on to greener pastures. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones notched 14 points apiece, while Doug McDermott provided a much-needed spark with 12 points off the bench.