The Brooklyn Nets dropped a 113-108 final to the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
With the game tied at 99, Devonte Graham put the Hornets up with a 3-pointer, tipping off a 7-2 burst that had the Hornets up 106-101 with two minutes to go. Joe Harris connected on a 3-pointer for Brooklyn, and Spencer Dinwiddie’s drive tied the game at 106 with 1:10 to go.
But Graham buried a top-of-the-key jumper right on the line for a 108-106 Charlotte lead, and followed it up well behind the line with a 3-pointer to put the Hornets up 111-106 with 21.9 seconds to go. Two Dinwiddie free throws brought the Nets within three with 18.4 seconds remaining.
Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points, plus six assists and five rebounds.
Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Theo Pinson had 12 points and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 14 rebounds. Garrett Temple added 11 points for Brooklyn.
The Nets led by as many 20 points in the first half before taking an 11-point advantage into the break.
An 8-2 run that started with four points from Allen and was capped by a Dzanan Musa three had the Nets up 28-1 in the first quarter, and they took a 34-26 lead into the second. Pinson opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer and two Jordan free throws gave the Nets a 9-0 run and a 39-26 lead.
With the Hornets within 42-32, the Nets put together a 10-0 run that began with Jordan’s three-point play. Pinson banked in a short jumper on a drive, and David Nwaba went end-to-end off a defensive rebound for a transition layup. Pinson followed with a 3-pointer, making him 4-for-4 overall and 2-for-2 from 3-point range with 10 points, and putting the Nets up 52-32.
Brooklyn shot 52.2 percent in the first half, including 40 percent from 3-point range, in taking a 64-53 halftime lead.
The Nets were still up by 15 late in the third quarter before the Hornets closed the quarter with a 17-4 run. Three straight 3-pointers had Charlotte within 84-81. Temple stopped the run with a drive for Brooklyn, but Miles Bridges dropped another Hornets 3-pointer to cut the Brooklyn lead to 86-84 going into the fourth quarter.
The Hornets pulled ahead on a Graham 3-pointer with 6:45 to go in the game, taking a 93-91 lead. Dinwiddie answered with a 3-pointer for the Nets to go back up 94-93. With Charlotte up 99-96, Dinwiddie’s three-point play tied the game with 4:45 to go.