One night after a catastrophic fourth quarter in Washington, the Charlotte Hornets made sure not to let the same thing happen two times in a row. In fact, these two closing frames in the back-to-back couldn’t have more different, the second resulting in a 110-99 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday evening.
Charlotte’s offense, which was averaging under 100 points and sat last in the NBA in efficiency since the All-Star Break, shot 54.3% – its highest since Feb. 10 – to help weather 17 turnovers that led to only 10 Brooklyn points. Three different Hornets’ players – Miles Bridges, Nick Richards, and Vasilije Micić – double-doubled in the same game for the third time this season.
Following another slightly sluggish opening few minutes, the Hornets got rolling at the end of the first, then dominated the second quarter, 32-17, for a 63-52 halftime lead. The possession game got a little bit away from Charlotte in third, thanks to five turnovers and four Nets’ offensive boards, but the team recovered nicely to close the frame still ahead by eight.
Two minutes after Brooklyn pulled to within six midway through the fourth, Micić wrangled his own missed layup, then instantly fired a perfect behind-the-back pass to Aleksej Pokuševski (making his team debut) for an open right corner 3-pointer. The Nets crawled back to make it a 103-97 Charlotte lead at the 2:29 mark, before Brandon Miller iced the game with a tough driving layup, putting an end to the hosts’ six-game skid.
Charlotte had itself an identical eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter on both Friday and Saturday night. Washington came away with a seismic 44 points in the win, while Brooklyn scrounged up a measly 17 points on 28.6% shooting (6-of-21) to go along with six turnovers.
“We were in the same exact place last night in the fourth quarter and kind of lost our way at both ends,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford following the win. “Tonight, we weren’t great offensively, but our defense was much better. For three quarters, our offense was really good. After the first quarter, our defense was very good. There are definitely things to like about the game and hopefully build on.”
Added Richards, “Last night, we should’ve gotten that win. We didn’t deserve to get that win because we didn’t play the right way for 48 minutes. Tonight, we came out with a different type of energy from the start to the finish, and I feel like that’s the reason we won.”
Bridges finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Miller added 23 points, 10 coming in the third quarter. Richards poured in 15 points and 11 rebounds for his career-high 15th double-double, while Micić tallied 12 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first NBA double-double. Dāvis Bertāns (11 points; 3-of-6 from 3-point) drained at least three 3-pointers off the bench for the fifth straight game and registered a game-best plus-25 plus-minus.
Back from a six-game absence, Cam Thomas led Brooklyn with a game-high 31 points on 12-of-24 shooting in the loss, with 17 coming in the first quarter and then 12 in the third. Nic Claxton (14 points and 10 rebounds) had himself a third consecutive double-double and Mikal Bridges chipped in another 19 points on only 6-of-18 shooting.
The Hornets will now embark on another two-game road trip starting with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, March 11 beginning at 7 PM ET. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
Hornets vs Nets Gallery ‑ 03/09/24
1 / 9CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 9: Brandon Miller #24 of the Charlotte Hornets shoots a three point basket during the game against the Brooklyn Nets on March 9, 2024 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
