Field Level Media
Mar 26, 2019
Kemba Walker had 38 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and was brilliant in overtime, and the Charlotte Hornets remained red hot with a 125-116 overtime victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Walker scored 11 of his points in overtime, including the Hornets' first seven of the extra session, as Charlotte outscored the Spurs 19-10.
The Hornets claimed their fourth consecutive win, which is a first this season, as they followed up a magical weekend in which they rallied from 18 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Boston, then stunned Toronto on a half-court buzzer beater by Jeremy Lamb.
Walker finished 14 of 31 from the field after scoring just six points in the first half. The Hornets also got a career-high 24 points from Dwayne Bacon, 15 from Frank Kaminsky, and 10 each from Willy Hernangomez and Miles Bridges.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Marco Belinelli scored 17 and pulled down 10 boards, and Bryn Forbes and Rudy Gay scored 16 each.
The Spurs had won 10 of their previous 12.
The game was hugely important for both teams.
The Spurs fell into eighth place in the Western Conference standings, a half-game behind the seventh-place Oklahoma City Thunder and 1 1/2 games behind the sixth-place Utah Jazz. In the Eastern Conference, the 10th-place Hornets are 1 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic.
The Hornets led 29-23 after one quarter but the Spurs came back in the second quarter to lead 59-55 at halftime. The Spurs then pushed the lead up to 72-62 early in the third quarter but the Hornets responded with a 12-0 run and eventually led 82-80 after three quarters.
DeRozan had a chance to win it in regulation, but his fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer was off, and the teams went into overtime tied at 106. The Spurs had rallied from a 97-89 deficit and led by two on two occasions in the final minutes.
The Spurs were closing out a three-game road trip. They will return home to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
The Hornets will now head west for a four-game road trip, starting on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
--Field Level Media