As it has been the case for most of the season, the Spurs fought valiantly until the end but couldn’t really impose their will late. Despite a career night from Keldon Johnson, the Charlotte Hornets were the ones who prevailed on a surprisingly intense battle, getting a valuable 123-117 victory that gets them closer to the play-in.
It was a high pace affair from the jump, as both teams tried to push the ball whenever they had a chance to catch the opponent’s defense before it could be set, to good results. The Spurs have struggled with getting back in an orderly fashion all year, and the Hornets were more than happy to punish them in secondary transition every time someone lagged behind.