Premiere night between the first two choices of the last Draft, Victor Wembanyama And Brandon Millerin this match between two of the worst teams in the league, which incidentally marked the return to competition of LaMelo Ball after more than a month away from the courts.
For the first stage of their “back-to-back”, the Spurs have also imposed themselves in great widths in the face of Hornets (135-99), in the wake of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks from “Wemby”. A logical and authoritarian success for the Texans, drawn from the second quarter, and which saw them count up to 38 points in advance. Enough to give the holders some breathing room during the fourth quarter, on the eve of welcoming the Bulls.
TO REMEMBER
– Victor Wembanyama ultra efficient. Coming off his first career triple-double, “Wemby” stood out again by propelling the Spurs to a second success in a row (which had only happened to them once this season, at the very start against Phoenix ). In just 20 minutes of play, he validated his 17th double-double of the year and exceeded the 25-unit mark for the seventh time. Very clean in shooting and intimidating in defense, the Frenchman continues to gain in efficiency in short sequences of playing time with San Antonio and Gregg Popovich must necessarily appreciate seeing him gain strength individually…
– The return of LaMelo Ball. Absent for a month and a half, or twenty games, the leader finally returned to action last night and, in 27 minutes of play, he took the opportunity to accumulate 28 points, 5 assists and 5 interceptions (with 6 turnovers and 4 fouls). ). A losing recovery, but a welcome reinforcement for the Hornets, already deprived of some other major elements in recent weeks and who had only won three of their twenty matches played without “Melo”. Hoping that his body will now leave him alone until the end of the season.
– Brandon Miller out with injury. The duel between the first two choices of the last Draft unfortunately did not live up to our expectations because, at the start of the second quarter, Miller violently fell while trying to place a dunk in front of Keldon Johnson on the counterattack ( who will receive a flagrant foul). Landing on his back, the rookie from Charlotte tried to continue playing for a few moments, before facing the facts and returning to the locker room, never to return. We will monitor the progress of this injury carefully.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
