January 31, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Kneuppel (7) guards San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Image The San Antonio Spurs will look to wrap up a six-game homestand and get back on the winning track after suffering a rare setback when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday afternoon.
The Spurs are back on the floor after losing 136-131 to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, playing without MVP candidate Victor Wembayama. Stephen Castle led San Antonio with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, achieving his third career triple-double.
De’Aaron Fox contributed 27 points, Harrison Barnes 20 points, Devin Vassell 18 points, Dylan Harper 13 points and Carter Bryant contributed 10 points to extend the team’s five-game winning streak.
“It’s hard to game plan when you have so many guys who can score 20, sometimes 30 points a night,” Vassell said of the Spurs’ quality depth.
San Antonio, which fell behind 42-25 in the fourth quarter in Thursday’s loss, has still won 16 of its last 18 games.
Wembayama, who was out with right ankle pain, missed his first game since January 3. San Antonio is 10-5 without him this season. Wembanyama made a game-time decision to play on Thursday and will likely be in the same mode for Saturday afternoon’s contest.
“It was a close call because there was a chance he could play, but it was definitely the right decision in the sense that we didn’t want to take any risks,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “(It) became the north star for every decision we made (regarding his health). I hope the rest will help him as well.”
The Hornets won the only game between the two teams this season, beating San Antonio 111-106 in Charlotte on Jan. 31, one of nine contests the Spurs have dropped in 33 games since the switch to 2026.
Charlotte heads to San Antonio for the final game of a four-game road trip after Wednesday’s 117-109 win over the Kings in Sacramento. The Hornets have won two straight, including eight of their last 10, and have mirrored San Antonio’s recent success, albeit in the Eastern Conference.
“To be honest, I always tell people (the transition) started with belief and trust in daily habits,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “It’s been something we’ve been working on from the offseason to training camp at the beginning of the season. We’ve had some injuries, but the guys continue to trust, commit to get better, commit to the journey and commit to each other.”
LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 30 points in the win over Sacramento, while Miles Bridges had nine of his 26 points in a key third quarter performance. Kon Knueppel scored 24 points and Brandon Miller added 20 for Charlotte, and those four combined for 100 of Charlotte’s 117 points.
Moussa Diabate was the game’s leading rebounder with 10 and six on the offensive end.
The Hornets hit 19 of 40 (47.5%) on 3-point attempts and outscored Sacramento 57-24 from beyond the arc. But Lee said it was the team’s defense that made the difference.
“Other than the first quarter, we played pretty well defensively and kept (Sacramento) under 30 points the rest of the game,” Lee said. “I thought we really tightened the screws in the third and fourth quarters and kept it under 25 degrees.”
–Field level media
