The Charlotte Hornets played their first home game since a five-game road trip on Wednesday at Time Warner Cable Arena. It wasn’t pretty.
Though the Hornets were very much in the game until the end, and held the lead for a large portion, they didn’t seem to be doing much of anything well. The defense wilted at times, and the offense was woefully unreliable, as the team shot a horrid 39.6 percent from the field which complimented their usual mediocre three-point shooting (3 of 12) to create a brand of terrible offense that this team has been accustomed to all season.
The Brooklyn Nets didn’t fare too well offensively either, as they shot 42.9 percent from the field, and 3 of 14 from beyond the arc, yet seemed to render the Hornets’ defense useless for a stretch in the fourth quarter, which allowed them to win in the end. The third quarter is where the Nets separated themselves, as they outscored Charlotte 26-18 in the period.
Charlotte gave themselves a chance to send it to overtime after cutting it to three, and forcing Deron Williams to turn the ball over out of bounds, but the ensuing Hornets possession proved fruitless, as Kemba Walker failed to handle the inbound pass, resulting in a Nets steal with three seconds to go.
Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson led the scoring charge for Charlotte, both scoring 23 points while Jefferson added 10 rebounds. Kemba Walker and Mo Williams both seemed to be off, as Walker finished with 11 points on four of 13 shooting, and Williams added nine points on two of 10 shooting. Brook Lopez lead the Nets with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hornets next take the court on Friday night in Washington, as they look to finish the season series against the Wizards on a high note; if they can win Friday, the Hornets will have taken the series from the Wizards three to one. Look for plenty of guard play, much like the last three meetings between these two teams, whichever back-court can outplay the other will have a significant advantage to win the game.
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