The Charlotte Hornets came into the game ready to face the Brooklyn Nets. The teams previously met on December 27, 2020, and the Hornets came out victorious. That was a home game, though; it is hard to get a win on the road – especially at the Barclays Center. This season, the Nets are 20-6 at home. They have made it difficult for opponents all year long, and they kept it that way tonight as well.
The Nets came into the game taking an early 11-4 lead. They went on an 8-0 run, but it was snapped with a jumper by Terry Rozier. Lamarcus Aldridge got sent to the line and knocked in both free-throws to get his first points as a Net. By the end of the first quarter, the Nets led by 21. A contributing factor in the Hornets’ large deficit was their struggle to get things going from the field. They were 17% from the field and 1 of 10 from three-point territory. It was a 32-11 game into the second.
Staring the second quarter, the Nets kept that momentum going. Just after 5 minutes of play, they were up by 29. That would be their largest lead of the half. Eventually, the Hornets started to wake up. They went from shooting 17% to 33% from the field and cut their deficit to 20 at the break. The Nets went into halftime up 68-48.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Nets were not ready to take their foot off the gas whatsoever. They took a 32 point lead with a little under 6 minutes remaining. The Hornets were outrebounded 45-39. They also only scraped up 10-second chance points compared to the Nets 18. The closest they were able to get was back within 21 early on. It was all Nets from there. The score was 92-65, heading into the fourth.
The Hornets opened up the fourth quarter on a 15-8 run. The Nets lead was cut to 17 at the 8:15 mark. Nevertheless, it was not too long before the Nets got back on top by large. Not enough consistency from the Hornets was shown to make it a closer game. Brad Wanamaker – the newest Hornet acquired from Golden State had 9 points in the fourth. He hit a three in the last 2 minutes of the game. Still, despite the show, Wannamaker put on, the Hornets were unable to come back and win it. The Nets blew out the Hornets 111-89.
“It was a tough game, obviously we wanted to come in and win,” Wannamaker said. “With a game right away, we can throw this one out the window,” He continued. “That’s a plus, but now we have to go into the next game with a chip on our shoulder, especially the way we lost tonight.”
The Nets are now 34-15 on the season. In the last 23 games, they are 20-3. In that stretch, they only had Kevin Durant for the first game. Durant last played on February 13th, 2021. Since then, the Nets have proved to be able to keep the ball rolling without him.
Jeff Green led the team with 21 points. Tyler Johnson and Irving had 15 points apiece. Aldridge knocked in 11. Gordon Hayward and Devonte Graham both contributed 13 points for the Hornets.
“I’m more confident out here with Kyrie and all those guys. I’m going to get easy shots,” Aldridge said about how it feels to be a Net. “Even tonight I got some help and shots, so I’m just looking forward to being me.”
