Spurs Shut Down Brandon Miller in 1st Half, Top Hornets at California Classic

Fueled by Julian Champagnie's 30 points, the San Antonio Spurs showed off their young talent Monday, easily cruising by the Charlotte Hornets at the California Classic ahead of their Wednesday matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was an all-around effort from the San Antonio Spurs during their summer-league opener.

Entering their first game of the California Classic on Monday — the multi-day tournament usually reserved for the California-based teams — the Spurs wanted to show off their young talent against the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center, and that they did. 

As expected, Victor Wembanyama didn't suit up for the game, but even without their 7-4 center, it was a hot-shooting day for the Spurs, who easily blew past No. 2 pick Brandon Miller and the Hornets while shooting 45 percent from the floor to grab a 98-77 win in their tournament opener.

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Miller seemed disoriented all evening, largely unable to adjust to the faster-paced game. Had it been a regular game, he would have fouled out in the first half, recording six personal fouls and scoring just five points before halftime. 

By the end of the contest, Miller had scored 18 points, but 11 of them came in the back five minutes of the game, when the Hornets had already gone down by as many as 30. He committed six turnovers and his team was minus-16 while he was on the floor.

The Spurs, on the other hand, found scoring in 10 different players, led by rising second-year forward Julian Champagnie, who posted 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Champagnie got things started for San Antonio in the first quarter, knocking down his first of five made 3s on the night to give the Spurs the early lead. Once they went up, they never looked back.

Four more points from Champagnie and six total from second-year forward Dominick Barlow helped the Spurs take a 30-11 first-quarter lead over the Hornets. 

The second quarter saw more of the same: frantic Hornets and shining Spurs. 

With 7:40 left in the half, a broken play on the Spurs' end of the court resulted in multiple diving players as the ball rolled loose. It eventually found its way to Champagnie, who hit a fadeaway corner 3 — the first of two straight — to further San Antonio's lead to 24. 

Once again, he and Barlow took over the second quarter, finishing the half with 20 and 12 points, respectively, as the Spurs went to the locker room up 58-32. 

Champagnie continued to be an unanswered problem for the Hornets in the second half, hitting another 3 and a free throw to put the Spurs up by 30 points almost immediately into the half.

San Antonio's No. 44 pick Sidy Cissoko was largely absent from the stat sheet, but made his presence felt nonetheless, showing aggression on the boards and even making a no-look pass to a driving Champagnie. He finished with three points and four boards.

Despite a late-quarter push by the Hornets, who rallied behind second-year shooting guard James Bouknight's 12 points, the Spurs finished the quarter with a 79-53 lead heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter brought about as much excitement as could be expected in a Summer League blowout, both teams giving their bench players minutes down the stretch. Not much changed on the scoreboard either, as the Spurs finished out the game strong to complete their 21-point victory.

"Our goal is to be better than last year," Barlow said postgame. "I think we've got a pretty good team ... I'm coming in [new] too, and I, [like all of us] went out there and was confident. We want to be in the league for a long time." 

With the win, San Antonio proved to be strong, even against the top talents from the draft — boding well for Wembanyama's expected debut in Las Vegas. 

The Spurs will take Sacramento's home court one more time during the California Classic Wednesday night, set to face Jalen Hood-Schifino and the Los Angeles Lakers. Coverage will begin on ESPN at 7 p.m. CST.

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