It was a tough outing for the Charlotte Hornets in more ways than one on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, as they couldn’t muster enough fourth quarter stops in a 114-104 road loss to the Nets.
Top Performers: Naz Reid posted a game and season-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting, two 3-pointers, nine rebounds and two assists in the Charlotte loss. Grayson Allen had another big night, finishing with 22 points – 20 in the first half – on 6-of-11 shooting, five 3-pointers and four assists for his league-leading fourth 20-point game off the bench this season (nobody else has more than two). Kon Knueppel’s much-anticipated season debut lasted only six minutes, after he exited the game in the first quarter with left leg soreness and did not return.
Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn’s late charge and ended the victory with 26 points – 13 in the fourth quarter – on 8-of-17 shooting, four 3-pointers and a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the campaign. Julius Randle added 22 points – his third straight 20-point game – on 7-of-13 shooting, while Nolan Traoré recorded 16 points (one off matching his season high) on 7-of-11 shooting and a game-high three steals.
Turning Point: Up two with 8:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Nets went on a quick 10-4 run, with nine of those points coming on a trio of 3-pointers from Porter. Now trailing by eight, Reid hit a few buckets down the stretch to keep the Hornets in it, but they didn’t come up with enough defensive stands to get the deficit any lower than five. Overall, Brooklyn shot 61% and connected on 6-of-9 from deep in the 34-point closing frame (48% and 31% in first 36 minutes).
Buzzworthy Takeaways
- This ended up being a nearly three-hour game with the two sides combining for 63 fouls and 60 free-throw attempts. While the Nets came in averaging the third-most fouls (25.6) and the sixth-most opposing free-throw attempts (28.6) in the NBA, Charlotte had been much cleaner in this category, ranking fourth (20.5) and eighth (22.5), respectively.
- The Hornets committed a manageable 17 turnovers for only 17 opposing points, but again, their inability to generate more takeaways led to a slightly lopsided differential. Brooklyn, which entered with the third-highest turnover rate in the league, coughed up possession only 12 times, besting its previous season low (16) by a decent margin.
- Knueppel’s abrupt exit took some wind out of the Hornets’ sails, who were hoping the sharpshooter’s return could help spark an offense that continues to be stuck in the mud nine games into the season. Charlotte hasn’t scored more than 104 points in any of its past five games (all losses) and owns a league-high 21.0% turnover rate over this stretch.
Postgame Quote
“I thought [our guys] handled the physicality pretty well. I think there were a couple stretches throughout the game where we were able to impose our will, we’re playing with pace and they (Brooklyn) feel us defensively, they feel us offensively. We created some really good looks for each other… Then, there were a couple stretches where we’re careless with the ball and lapses on defense. Overall, I thought the competitive spirit and the physicality of the group was there all night.” – Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee
What’s Next?
The Hornets will kick off a short homestand with an Emirates NBA Cup Game against the Boston Celtics on Friday, Nov. 6 beginning at 7 PM ET. Charlotte has won just four of its 24 regular season meetings with Boston since the start of the 2019-20 campaign (went 1-2 last year) and dropped the past four head-to-head meetings at Spectrum Center (last win: 121-118 in OT on Nov. 20, 2023).