Hornets Start Season by Rolling Spurs in Record-Setting Style

Richards Has Career Night, Rozier and Hayward Each Score 20+ PTS in Blowout Victory

The Charlotte Hornets simply couldn’t have asked for a better, more dominant start to their 2022-23 NBA campaign, as they rode a tone-setting first quarter all the way to a 129-102 road victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Terry Rozier was one of seven Charlotte players to score in double figures, finishing with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting (4-of-7 from 3-point), six rebounds and six assists starting at point guard in place of the injured LaMelo Ball. The star of the show for the Hornets though was third-year center Nick Richards, who tallied his first NBA double-double and set new career highs in points (19), rebounds (10) and offensive rebounds (8).

Charlotte raced out to a 38-22 lead through the opening frame, setting a record for the highest-scoring first quarter in the first game of the season in franchise history. The lead ballooned to 25 in the second quarter, but a 13-2 Spurs spurt shortly after halftime made it an 85-75 game. The Hornets would respond emphatically by ripping off a 25-3 stretch that bridged the third and fourth quarters to effectively put the game away.

“I thought the biggest part was the starters had a great readiness to play,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford after the victory. “When we subbed and broke the lineup, there was no change. A lot of guys played well. Our better quarters tonight, we played pretty good all-around basketball.”

Clifford added, when asked about Richards: “I don’t see him doing anything that he can’t do pretty regularly. It’s not like he’s making all these threes. He knows who he is and he plays to his strengths. He doesn’t take any bad shots, he’s a really good screener, he’s super-physical, a terrific athlete for his size, he’s smart. He’s just doing what he can, so I think it’ll be exciting to see how he grows into this role.”

Gordon Hayward (20), PJ Washington (17), Kelly Oubre Jr. (13), Dennis Smith Jr. (12) and Mason Plumlee (12) all joined Rozier and Richards in the double-digit scoring department. Charlotte shot 51% and 45% from 3-point range (13-of-29) as a team to help seal a second consecutive season-opening win for the first time since going back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

The Hornets’ 27-point margin of victory is now the largest in team history for a season opener, breaking the previous mark of 24 set in Atlanta on Oct. 31, 2000. Their 129 points scored is also a new franchise record for a non-overtime season opener, surpassing the 126 points scored in the first game of the 1992-93 and 2019-20 campaigns.

As for the host Spurs, Keldon Johnson led the way with a team-high 20 points – 11 coming in the third quarter – to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Fellow starters Tre Jones and Jakob Poeltl each added 14 points in the loss.

The Hornets will now head back to Charlotte for their home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Oct. 21 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.