SAN ANTONIO — Bryn Forbes had 22 points and San Antonio’s reserves propelled the Spurs to a 108-101 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, snapping a four-game skid.
The Spurs played without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker, who are out with quadriceps injuries. Charlotte was without Nicholas Batum and Michael Carter-Williams, who also have not played this season, along with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Each team had to find scoring elsewhere, and San Antonio’s backups responded in a big way.
Rudy Gay scored 20 points and Dejounte Murray had 10, joining Forbes to help San Antonio’s reserves outscore Charlotte’s 64-16.
Jeremy Lamb led Charlotte with 27 points. The Hornets had won three in a row.
Longtime San Antonio star Manu Ginobili had 10 points and five assists while becoming the first South American to play in 1,000 games in the NBA. The 40-year-old Ginobili was spry, scoring six points in his first six minutes and then throwing down a one-handed dunk in the fourth quarter after playing 21 minutes.
Gay’s alley-oop dunk off a feed from Ginobili gave the Spurs a 75-67 lead with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. Gay extended the lead to 78-68 with a 3-pointer.
San Antonio had eight dunks, one less than its made 3-pointers for a team that relies on outside shooting. The Spurs shot 47 per cent from the field.
Forbes was 8 for 11 while coming within five points of matching his career high.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points for San Antonio, marking just the second time in nine games that he has not led the team in scoring.
Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, but was 1 for 4 on free throws in the final four minutes.
TIP-INS
Hornets: Kidd-Gilchrist missed the game for personal reasons. … Lamb has scored at least 15 points in all nine games this season after doing so only 11 times last season. … Dwayne Bacon made his fourth start of the season. … The Hornets scored 19 points in the first quarter, the lowest by a Spurs opponent this season, but it was not Charlotte’s lowest production. The Hornets were held to 18 points in the first quarter against Orlando on Oct. 20.
Spurs: Ginobili joined Parker and Tim Duncan as the only players in franchise history to play 1,000 games with the Spurs. Ginobili was initially listed as questionable and then ruled out by coach Gregg Popovich for rest. The Spurs changed their mind about 45 minutes prior to game time, announcing Ginobili would in fact play in the second game of a back-to-back. … Aldridge had a blocked shot for the 17th straight game, the league’s longest active streak. … Kyle Anderson scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, equaling his total in 72 games last season.
UP NEXT
Hornets: Visit Minnesota on Sunday night in the second game of a four-game road trip.
Spurs: Host Phoenix on Sunday night in the third of a six-game homestand.
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