Charlotte Hornets struggle in second half in loss to San Antonio Spurs
After a magnificent start, the Charlotte Hornets could not cap off their hot first half and pick up a win.
With another loss in the books, the Charlotte Hornets continue to prove that they have not made strides since their recent eight-game losing streak. After a brutal 114-90 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Hornets are back up to a two-game losing streak.
More from Swarm and Sting
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?
This is one of those games where there should not be any excuses coming from the players and coaching staff. After being up by as much as 19 points in the third quarter, that was all washed away with a Spurs’ scoring run.
The final score does not reflect how close of a game this was, but Charlotte was in control of this one for an entire half.
This is the second straight game where the Hornets have given up and only played one half of basketball.
The leading scorer of the game between both sides was Miles Bridges, who finished with 25 points and six rebounds. Bridges had a terrific first half, but he did not finish as hot as he started.
The next closest scoring leader on the Hornets was Cody Zeller; he finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Zeller has been picking up many assists lately, and he almost finished with the first triple-double of his career.
What ultimately destroyed the Hornets in this one was the lack of ball-security on offense. The Hornets committed 17 turnovers and allowed the Spurs to come away with 26 points off them.
The turnovers did not help the Hornets with their paint defense too, as they were outscored 54-48 in the paint. Turnovers and the Hornets’ paint defense has been a recurring issue in recent losses.
Next. What do you do with Malik Monk?. dark
With this loss, the Hornets drop to 16-33 overall and fall to the 12th spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hornets will next take on the Orlando Magic on Monday night at 7 p.m. in the first game of a back-to-back.