San Antonio vs. Charlotte, Final Score: Spurs stung by the Hornets 93 – 108

Je ne pleure pas, tu pleures.

On a night of heartfelt emotions, the Spurs and the fans at the AT&T welcomed back one of their own. LaMarcus Aldridge kept up his offensive groove pitching a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs. Ultimately, it was not enough for the good guys who fell to the Hornets 108-93.

Roundup:

It was a tale of three runs in the first quarter with the Spurs jumping out to an early lead behind their first run only to find themselves down by as much as 10 when the Hornets went on their own run behind a hot-shooting Kemba Walker. Another Spurs run cut the lead down to 24-28 to end the first quarter.

In the second, the Spurs’ offense was solid, but their defense was more troublesome giving up points in the paint, from three, and in transition. Eventually the pace picked up for both sides (as did the turnovers), and somewhat surprisingly the Spurs were down by only 6 at the half, 43-49.

The third quarter began with less sloppy ball-handling and both sides were more focused on offense. Walker continued to shoot well from long distance, and Aldridge punished the Hornets down low. The Spurs still found themselves down 4 at the end of the third despite taking a very brief one-point lead.

The back-and-forth from the third quarter continued into the fourth as Tony Parker came alive making familiar-looking layups in the paint and setting up teammates for buckets. The Hornets seemed to threaten to pull away at several times if not for a couple of threes coaxed into the hoop by Patty Mills.

In the end though, the Spurs’ defense could not stop the Hornets, and Walker proved to be too much for the Silver and Black.

Aimless Observations:

My TV started acting up, so coincidentally I did have to adjust it right when Parker came in for the Hornets midway through the first quarter.
I don’t know how I feel seeing Gregg Popovich arguing with a ref for something Parker did against the Spurs. It’s like seeing Lex Luger wrestling against Sting. Sort of.
Rudy Gay continues to miss games with a wrist injury, and the Spurs continue to miss his presence in the lineup. Marco Belinelli was also a scratch tonight with a knee contusion.
Walker was a handful shooting from downtown and breaking down the defense by darting his way into the paint. He could not miss and set the tone offensively for his team with his scoring.
Even though he’s seeing more double teams, Aldridge is succeeding in passing out of double teams or making quicker moves to the basket before the second defender comes over to help.
Derrick White’s lobs to Aldridge for dunks or lay-ins are my second favorite things behind Derrick White poking the ball away from behind.
Tony Parker is only a month older than I am, and I try to keep pace with him in life milestones. Currently, he’s got a 17-year head start on me to accomplish things like: (1) become the starting point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, (2) win an NBA Finals MVP, and (3) make a rap video: