Miles Bridges' 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left lifts Hornets past Spurs 117-116 to snap 6-game skid

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off a wraparound feed from LaMelo Ball with 1.4 seconds left to lift Charlotte to a 117-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night and snap a six-game skid for the Hornets.

De’Aaron Fox appeared to respond with a winning 3 at the buzzer, but referees gathered after the play and ruled he did not get the shot off in time.

Bridges finished with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting and Ball had 24 points and 10 assists for Charlotte after missing the last five games with an ankle injury. Nick Smith Jr added 19 points for the Hornets — his fourth straight game with at least that many — and Moussa Diabate was strong on the offensive glass, finishing with 15 rebounds after taking over as the starting center.

Rookie Stephon Castle finished with a career-high 33 points for the Spurs.

Fox, who tied the game with less than a minute to play and then gave the Spurs the lead with a 20-footer with 7.9 seconds left, had 22 points. Victor Wembanyama had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Spurs: San Antonio was not nearly active enough on the glass, getting outrebounded 53-38.

Hornets: Charlotte was a little light on bodies as it awaits the arrival of several players acquired at the trade deadline, including Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and Jusuf Nurkic.

Ball made a smart decision when he drove the lane in the final seconds and spotted Bridges in the corner for the open 3.

Charlotte had 27 second-chance points to San Antonio's nine.

The Spurs are at Orlando on Saturday night. The Hornets play at Detroit on Sunday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) pulls down an offensive rebound against Charlotte Hornets forwards Moussa Diabate, center, and Miles Bridges, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks against Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan drives to the basket against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan (10) dunks as Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) and guard DaQuan Jeffries (3) watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama talks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) looks to pass the ball ahead of Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) looks to pass the ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges prepares to shoot the winning 3-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)