SPURS at HORNETS FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS January 31 2026

Nasty weather outside. Sure glad they decided to play this game indoors. Spectrum Center, Uptown Charlotte, leave your sled dog at the door. Hardcore hoop fans making the trek, and folks, I'm here to tell you, it will be worth it. We have got the red hot Charlotte Hornets doing their thing. LaMelo Ball, Cod Knieppel, Miles Bridges, Musa Diabate. They're loving their Hornets, but today it will be a tough test. It'll be a French exam. Victor Wim Benyama and the San Antonio Spurs rolling into town. Let's take a look at the starting lineups. First, the visitors from San Antonio. Second best record in the Western Conference, and there is a change. For the first time all season long, Harrison Barnes will not start, so the forwards will be Vassell and Champenny. Backcourt of Fox and Castle really good, and it all surrounds the Frenchman Victor Wim Benyama. For the locals, Cod Knieppel has been a revelation as a rookie. Brandon Miller, hotter than a pepper sprout. LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Musa Diabate. NBA players always have guys or fans say, wow, I didn't realize you were that tall. Well, they can say it about Wimby as well. First time in a couple of years that the Hornets have been able to string together five in a row. Game's first shot, Wim Benyama, nothing but net. Great rhythm off that little down screen, catches it at the elbow. Nobody's going to block that shot. Brandon Miller keeps the dribble alive, now shoots it over to LaMelo Ball. Shot locked out at three, and it's stolen away. Fox has Castle with him, to the rim, and Castle finishes. Good athleticism, started on the defensive end of the floor. Fox, one of the veteran guys on this team. Ball's first shot up and in. Three ball for number one. Miles Bridges, longest-tenured Hornet, a three-pointer. I think the Hornets are going to have Dijon Salah come in at some point for Charlotte. He's a Frenchman as well. Knieppel saw Wim Benyama change his idea and passed it to Diabate. And once he saw he had... Delfrey, a young player like Knieppel, how long does it take to get adjusted to playing against the length of Wim Benyama? I think he's played enough. There's several teams around the league. Masell up and several teams around the league. Plenty of length. Not quite like Wim Benyama, but you've made that adjustment already. He's been on the floor and played big minutes against good teams. LaMelo hesitated, and it didn't cost him a three-pointer. Bridges working against the smaller Fox. Fadeaway up and good for Bridges. That's the awareness of the length by Khan Knieppel and Wim Benyama. Normally he'd have pulled up for that shot, but knows he can't because of that length. Knieppel with the athletic ability to get to the rim. Vassell, three-pointer veteran at Devin Vassell. The young talent is plentiful tonight. Diabate, what a pass. Did you see how ball just spun that in there? Both sides have subs waiting at the table. Next stoppage. Fox, lefty three for De'Aaron Fox. Here's Dylan Harper. He's left-handed. Harper. That's pretty. Much like Khan Knieppel, these guys know how to start it with Castle, and then Sell took over. They are really defending Brandon Miller strong. Oh my goodness. Champenny makes a three, and he's knocked to the floor. Used a little bit of a push-up to create space. Shot comes up short. Look what I found. Green keeps it with Charlotte. Knieppel, his second layup. Yeah, set up by the good offensive. Harper, left-handed player. First field goal for Dylan Harper. We are seeing. Fox, out to Harper. That's the final frontier for him. Only shooting 23 percent from behind. His brother, Ron Harper Jr., currently with the Boston Celtics. Call printer. Doesn't shoot that shot very often, but maybe he should. Yeah, shot clock running down. Harper, Wembenyama, Castle. Castle to the rim. Give the assist to Wembenyama. Second dunk for Castle. Knieppel has not taken a three-pointer in our game. Harper, just like his daddy did. And we've got a time. Ify, no doubt about it, expecting up to eight inches of snow. Look at Bull. Yeah, bully ball there. Put Harper in the rim. Wembenyama came over late. Collin continues to change the game off the bench. San Antonio, they have had 10 fast break points. The Hornets have not had any. Dylan Harper, another right-handed shot made. They're scheduled to play tomorrow afternoon in Orlando at home. Wow. Oh, wow. My goodness. Wembenyama. Give the assist to Harper. On the move while he's fading to his left or right. No look pass to Sexton. Real quick trigger. Fox is running out on him. He's still putting up an end. Trailer Sexton. Leaves it for Diabate. Didn't want to take any chances with Wembenyama. And Ball gets at the ball. And now San Antonio calls it. Cornette, Barnes, Harper, Vassell, and Fox. Five on the floor for San Antonio. This is Fox. Two feet in the paint, able to score. Cleared out the right side. Cornette with a screen and Fox gets to the paint. Sexton, Diabate, Bridges, Miller, and Ball for Hornets. Miller has not scored. Changes that to Cornette. Spurs turn it over. Sexton, transition three. Brandon Miller's just one for eight total in this ball game. He's seen extra coverage. That's what he's got to do right there. Wembenyama's in that drop coverage on screen roll. He's got to keep texting somebody. Hey, boy, just scored two. Castle. Quick as a hiccup. Yeah, he knew his Spurs has been struggling offensively to score the ball. How do you combat that? You get a heart. Miller gets it to Ball. Couple of free throws and now a three. LaMelo loves these opportunities. This is what the people came to see right here. Extra pass to Miller. Got it. Hornets just waiting for their opportunity. That is a smart athletic hooper. Took his time, changed his speed, and got all the way to the rim. Hornets have the same five on the floor that began the game. Brandon Miller working against Castle. Oh, a circus shot. Balls. Wow. Hands it over to Diabate who gives it right back. Ball. Yeah, good move right there. Musa stayed on the move. He had the attention of Wembenyama. That opened up that little floater for LaMelo. Wembenyama. That was touched and it still went in. It was blocked in. That shot right there tells me he's just going to try to get extra aggressive to get his team off to a good start here. Diabate shows respect to Wembenyama. Pulls up instead of Wembenyama. Fox. Corner three from Castle. Last year's rookie of the year confuses the screen from Diabate. Shot clock's down to four. Diabate. That'll count if it goes. And it does! Miracles answered in Uptown Charlotte. Wembenyama, last man come down the floor. San Antonio resets with him down on the block. Wembenyama bats it around and bats it in. Good golly. It's nice to be 7'5". Here comes San Antonio. 15-point game. Fox. Walled off by Knipple. Ball finds Champagney. Three-pointer for a guy wearing number 30. Tipped by Harper. This kid's got instincts for days. Knipple gets it back. Ball. Instincts. Probably a snowstorm when I was there. Here's Cornette. Former Boston Celtic among other teams. Harper. Lefty three. All right. That was supposed to be the final frontier, but the ball. Trying to shake Castle. Kochbrenner. Right place, right time. They've already exceeded last year's win total. With a win today, they would exceed the win total from two years ago. Kochbrenner has it. Back with Vassell. Tough leading mid-ranger. Got a front and a rear contest. That's his game. Devin Vassell. Run him off the line. The trailer's Vassell. Extra pass into the corner. Champagney. That's Champagney's role. Find an open spot and bury a jumper. Veteran Harrison Barnes. Johnson. That's a good play. Barnes waited for the action to occur on that left side. Johnson gets the floater in the paint. Sexton weaves it in lane. Colin Sexton. Soft shot from three there. Yeah. James keeps it with the home team. Sexton catches it in. That's a bonus three for Charlotte. Harper was a winner. Shot clock down to two. Knieppel. Things you guess at, others you just know. Todd Knieppel is going to bottom a three at some point in the game. Harper. This kid can play. Wow. We saw a couple of rookies. Fox. Up and in. Wants to get to the left hand. They got swarmed over in the second quarter. Lost that one by 18 points. Diabate. A committed drive. A good shot for Diabate. Knieppel. Sets up Sexton. Straight for the Hornets. Sexton. Makes it hurt. Spurs got it. De'Aaron Fox rocks the cradle and finishes. Quick right hand drive by Sexton and used the rim to protect that ball. Poked from behind by Castle. Hornets still have it. Game getting a little bit ragged. Williams knew that Wim Benyam was lurking. San Antonio the second best record in the Western Conference. Barnes. The former Olympic gold medalist Harrison Barnes. Castle. Barnes. That's a pro. That's a guy who has won a ton of games. Four game on the outskirts of a triple double. He knew he was fighting against. Patience. Waiting for Knieppel to come over and get a little brush screen. Turn the corner and he saw what was in front of him and made the adjustment. 16-8 and 6 for Ball. Castle. When in doubt just throw it up in the air for Wim Benyam. Roll it up. Catch it and flip it in with the left hand. Nine assists for Castle. Who can stack some stops together and score it on their end. Ball staggers. Hands it over to Knieppel. Knieppel. Leans and hits. Nice. Six-point game. Six minutes to play. Castle. That's a tough chance. Four-point game. Getting good. Shot clock's already down to four. What a job by Vassell. Fox. Pretty clutch. It's a two-point game. Spurs have locked him back. Bridges. Four-point lead for the home team. San Antonio calls timeout. Fox. Wim Benyama. What a catch. Oh my goodness. Went behind his head. Throw it to Wim Benyama. Play the split game up top and he finds the front of the rim. Hornets hanging on like a cat on a screen door. They led by 20 at one point. It's almost all gone. Bridges. Here's Vassell. One thing in mind and it works. Charlotte is not the bonus. Knieppel. Diabate. Ball. Three on the shot clock. Miller. It's Fox. Took out the feet of Brandon Miller. Fox jumps within his normal plane and Miller uses his right leg to extend and create contact. Therefore the foul on the floor will be overturned to a no call. Imminent possession will be a jump ball at center court between any player in the game. 24 seconds on the shot clock and 36 seconds on the game clock. I think it surprised the other nine players on the floor. I think he was thinking two for one. And a foul is committed. Vassell and Fox. Now do you try to get a quick shot regardless of what it is or do you go straight for the three two possession games? Fox batted around. Vassell bought the Charlotte Hornets. They have won six consecutive games for the first time in three years. After being up by as much as 20, they made it interesting. What went into staving off their comeback? Oh man, I got to tilt my hats off to them. A great competitive team. They got great competitive players. We just came out here with the mindset of just battling and competing at the highest level and just playing to our strengths and I think we executed that tonight. And you executed again 10 straight games with 20 plus points and you have been a huge catalyst for your hot streak. What has been the difference for you lately? Just playing with that confidence. I think everybody here in this building trusts me. All I can do is just put my trust back into them for them to get me the right shots each game, be in the right positions on defense and it's also about making the winning plays. I think everybody came out with the mindset of just competing at the highest level and making every winning play that they can and that's how we got the win tonight. Winning play and six straight wins. You've already matched the win total from the last two seasons. You see the environment and the energy around your teammates. Describe what is different about this group? The competitive spirit. I think we have that in our mindset each day. We know we're not going to be, like I said, we're not going to be the biggest. We can be the most physical. We can be the most prepared and I think we was prepared tonight for this win. And you made it count for all these fans who came out in the snow. Congrats. Thank you.