SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama returned from missing a game and scored 32 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Miles Bridges scored 22 points and Kon Knueppel added 20 for Charlotte, which has won two straight and eight of 10 games.
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The Spurs have won 17 of 19 games, solidifying their second place in the Western Conference. The San Antonio Spurs (49-18) are 7.5 games ahead of third-place Houston (41-25) and three games behind first-place Oklahoma City (52-15).
The Spurs end their longest home stretch at 5-1, with their only loss coming Thursday at a 136-131 loss to the Denver Nuggets with Wembunyama on the bench with right calf soreness, ending a five-game winning streak.
Venbanyama performed well in the first half, scoring 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Wembanyama lost possession of the ball on an alley-oop pass and hit the rim while trying for a dunk, but regained control for the ensuing dunk, giving the Spurs a nine-point lead per minute in the second quarter.
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Venbanyama made 13 of 24 shots and 5 of 10 three-pointers. In the past five games, he shot 46.9% from three-point range and scored 23 points on 49 field goals.
LaMelo Ball hit 4 of 10 3-pointers, including a 27-foot running ball, to give Charlotte its only lead, 13-10, with 9:50 left in the first quarter. Fifteen seconds later, Julian Champagne hit his only three-pointer of the game to tie the game and the Spurs never trailed again.
Ball finished with 17 points.
Next
Hornets: Host Miami on Tuesday night.
Spurs: vs. Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA