February 21st 2016
Brooklyn Nets 96 vs. Charlotte Hornets 104
The Nets entered tonight’s game coming off a huge win against their cross-town rivals in the battle of the boroughs. The Nets took down the Knicks with a stellar offensive performance and looked to continue that trend tonight against the visiting Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are making a playoff push and were looking to come away with their 5th straight victory.
“The guy played great, no question he probably should have earned a spot on the All-Star team.. We just couldn’t seem to stay in front of him..” – Coach Tony Brown on Hornet’s Kemba Walker
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The Hornets were at full strength for their second consecutive game as this was Al Jefferson’s second outing since he returned from injury. He did not start in tonight’s game but his presence was felt throughout the game. “Big Al” finished with 18 points and 7 boards as he battled with Brook Lopez in the middle. With Jefferson in the line-up the Hornets are a very formidable team. Bronx Native Kemba Walker made his first trip to Barclays Center this season and had himself a good homecoming. He finished with 28 points on 11-18 shooting as he led a balanced attack for the visiting squad. He was weaving in and out of the paint and the Nets couldn’t contain him. Walker is having one of his best seasons as a pro and it showed tonight in the way he paced the offense and approached the game.
“Offensively we weren’t really in sync tonight.” –Coach Tony Brown
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For the Nets it was almost the same old song, they started off well tonight, Joe Johnson was especially aggressive offensively. He had a strong start with 8-points in the 1st period. Johnson would finish the game with 17-points on 4 for 6 shooting he also added a couple of assists and steals. Brook Lopez, after a monster game against the Knicks scored just 16-points as he was in foul trouble early in the first half and just could not get an offensive rhythm. The Nets were doomed by turnovers in the 3rd period, they proved to be costly as the Hornets turned those turnover into points and built a commanding 82-68 lead with 2:36 left in the third. Wayne Ellington and Thaddeus Young both finished with double figures in scoring and kept the Nets within striking distance however their comeback would fall short in the final period.
An old foe returned to face the Nets tonight, Jeremy Lin, who’s “Linsanity” began a few years ago against the then New Jersey Nets. He finished with 11 points and numerous cheers from the crowd, as he seemed to have a lot of supporters in attendance. This was also a welcoming party for Courtney Lee who was a member of the New Jersey Nets. This was his first game with the Hornets as he was acquired via trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in last Thursday’s trade deadline deal. Lee had 5 point in 20 minutes of action. He will look to provide an offensive spark for the Hornets moving forward. Nicolas Batum added 14 points and 8 assists for the Hornets once again highlighting the balanced scoring by the Hornets tonight; it was a complete team effort. As a team they shot 50% from the floor and 37% from behind the arc hitting 10 3’s tonight.
The Nets came into this game shooting well from behind the arc but could not hit the mark tonight. They shot 22 times from behind the arc and only scored on 5 attempts shooting 22%. Bojan Bogdanovic had only one field goal tonight as he and several others struggled to make an impact from off the bench.
“A lot of turnovers gave them a lot of easy fast break points” –Joe Johnson.
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One of the keys for the Nets coming into this game was to contain Kemba Walker and limit turnovers however they could not accomplish either of those two goals. Coach Brown made it simple in his post game press conference when he highlighted the Nets inability to secure the ball and score baskets. The Nets played well defensively for stretches in the second half, but just could not keep it up for 4 quarters. The Nets next game will be Tuesday February 23rd against the Portland Trailblazers, as they will attempt to get back on the winning track.
Twitter: Sherman@shermangmz1
Email: shermangmz1@gmail.com
Photo: Frank Franklin II (AP/Photo)