CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off a wraparound feed from LaMelo Ball with 1.4 seconds left to lift Charlotte to a 117-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night and snap a six-game skid for the Hornets.
De’Aaron Fox appeared to respond with a winning 3 at the buzzer, but referees gathered after the play and ruled he did not get the shot off in time.
Bridges finished with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Ball had 24 points and 10 assists for Charlotte after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. Nick Smith Jr added 19 points for the Hornets — his fourth straight game with at least that many — and Moussa Diabate was strong on the offensive glass, finishing with 15 rebounds after taking over as the starting center.
Rookie Stephon Castle finished with a career-high 33 points for the Spurs.
Fox, who tied the game with less than a minute to play and then gave the Spurs the lead with a 20-footer with 7.9 seconds left, had 22 points. Victor Wembanyama had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Takeaways
Spurs: San Antonio was not nearly active enough on the glass, getting outrebounded 53-38.
Hornets: Charlotte was a little light on bodies as it awaits the arrival of several players acquired at the trade deadline, including Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and Jusuf Nurkic.
Key moment
Ball made a smart decision when he drove the lane in the final seconds and spotted Bridges in the corner for the open 3.
Key stat
Charlotte had 27 second-chance points to San Antonio's nine.
Up next
The Spurs are at Orlando on Saturday night. The Hornets play at Detroit on Sunday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Steve Reed, The Associated Press
