Hornets at Spurs
THE STORY: Not much has changed in the 10 days since the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets last met. San Antonio remains the top home-court team in the NBA, defending the AT&T Center with a 99-91 come-from-behind victory over the rival Houston Rockets on Wednesday to improve to 11-1 at home. The Spurs are 4-1 in their last five games hosting the Hornets. New Orleans is still at the bottom of the Western Conference after letting a win over the Phoenix Suns slip away Wednesday night. The Hornets, who led by 13 points in the first half, allowed 64 points in the final two quarters to lose 120-103. It was their third straight loss and ninth in the last 10 games. A 104-102 defeat to San Antonio on Jan. 23 is part of that slump. The Spurs have won eight of the past 10 encounters with the Hornets.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Cox Sports Television, Fox Sports Southwest
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-18): The Hornets seemed doomed the second point guard Chris Paul was shipped off to Los Angeles. It isn’t Paul’s scoring or playmaking the team misses the most – it’s the leadership. New Orleans head coach Monty Williams told reporters the biggest hole in his team is the lack of a vocal leader when stuck in ruts like this current three-game slide. That role could belong to shooting guard Eric Gordon, who has been sidelined for all but two games due to a knee injury. Gordon isn’t expected back for another few weeks and is at the center of many trade rumors after not signing an extension.
ABOUT THE SPURS (14-9): Tim Duncan is past his prime, but the future Hall of Fame power forward still has a lot of tread left on the tires. Duncan fueled a comeback for the Spurs Wednesday, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the third quarter versus the Rockets. It was his biggest scoring performance since San Antonio defeated the Hornets in New Orleans 10 days ago. Duncan dropped 28 points on the Bugs including a game-winning hook shot to steal a two-point win in the Big Easy. He’s averaging just 13.4 points per game this season and is in danger of missing the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. New Orleans set season highs for points in a half (59) and points in a second quarter (32) in Wednesday's loss to the Suns. The Hornets were 25 of 42 from the field in the first half.
2. Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is getting close to returning from a broken hand. He has been cleared for shooting drills and is expected to play sometime during the team’s upcoming nine-game road trip.
3. San Antonio leads the all-time series with the Hornets 42-20, including an 11-6 record since the team moved to New Orleans.