5 Takeaways From Hornets’ 114-104 Loss to Nets

The Charlotte Hornets took a 57-50 lead into halftime at Barclays Center on Wednesday night. The Brooklyn Nets outscored them 64-47 after the break and won 114-104.

Charlotte is 3-6 and has lost five straight. Brooklyn is 2-6.

Sion James said Charlotte slowed down too much on offense and started turning the ball over in ways it is not supposed to.

“We beat ourselves, so that never feels good,” James said. “We got away from doing things we were supposed to be doing. We showed flashes of the way we’re supposed to play. So for us, it’s just about being more consistent with that.”

The Nets scored 34 points in the final quarter, more than they had in any other period. They shot 11-of-18 in the fourth, 6-of-11 from 3-point range, and Charlotte did not lead at any point in it.

Day’Ron Sharpe had 4 assists in the quarter without making a field goal. He finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Danny Wolf and Terance Mann played all 12 minutes of the fourth. Each was plus-10 in the quarter, and Mann did it without scoring, finishing with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in those 12 minutes.

Neither Mann nor Wolf played in the first half. Porter could not say enough about what the two of them did after it.

“I ain’t gonna lie, the difference tonight was Terance Mann and Danny Wolf, I would say,” Porter said. “They haven’t been in the rotation much. Came in ready to play. Terance is one of those guys who you see — it doesn’t matter how much he scores, he impacts the game so much with his IQ, his defensive ability, connectiveness, and his communication. So he’s like a pleasure to share the court with, one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had.”

“And Danny coming in and contributing right away like that, that takes a lot of readiness and a lot of discipline, to not play for so many games and come in in the second half and contribute the way he did,” Porter continued. “I always thought Danny was a special player, and I’ve said that since he got here. I think he could do so many things on the basketball court. And I’m really happy that he got the opportunity. He was a plus-17. Terance was a plus-11, so I’ll say those two dudes. And then obviously, Mikel was the other one, 18 points. But the shots he hit, the plays he made were big time. So those three guys really stood out for sure.”

For James, a good stretch looks like the ball popping around and guys making quick decisions.

“We just got away from doing the things that worked well for us,” James explained. “Our pace slowed down. We started having careless turnovers, and Porter Jr. got hot, and we didn’t make the adjustments in real time like we were supposed to.”

Brooklyn made 25 of its 38 shots in the paint for 50 points. Charlotte went 17-of-32 there for 34.

Before halftime, the Nets had 28 paint points to Charlotte’s 16.

Hornets coach Charles Lee said the defensive competitiveness he saw Wednesday is how the whole group is.

“I thought they handled the physicality pretty well,” Lee said. “I think there was a couple stretches throughout the game where we were able to impose our will, and we’re playing with pace. They feel us defensively, they feel us offensively. We created some really good looks for each other. I thought that our screeners were a little bit more dynamic tonight. We were able to get a piece of the paint.”

“And then there was a couple stretches where we’re careless with the ball and lapses on defense,” Lee continued. “But overall, I thought the competitive spirit and the physicality of the group was there all night.”

Moussa Diabaté started at center and finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds in 28:42. He was called for 5 fouls and finished minus-18. Ryan Kalkbrenner played 19:19 behind him and was plus-8, with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and a block.

Charlotte grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to Brooklyn’s 5. The Nets still scored more second-chance points, 16 to 13.

Nets coach Jordi Fernández said Brooklyn’s bigs had a rough time early with fouls and with giving up offensive rebounds, and that it was on everybody, not just them.

“Very happy,” Fernández said of Day’Ron Sharpe. “You see the eight assists, and then he went back and fought on those boards. And again, when you play against a team like this, that they’re relentless on the glass, sometimes all you got to do is box your man out, and then somebody else got to grab the rebound. So I think that’s what we did better in that second half. I know we got in foul trouble, but we ended up surviving, and him and Mo [Moritz Wagner] tag-teamed right there to help us with their bigs, because definitely we had to play big today.”

Hornets reserves combined for 52 points, 22 of them from Grayson Allen. Brooklyn’s bench scored 45, led by Mikel Brown Jr. with 18.

Four Charlotte reserves finished with a positive plus-minus: Kalkbrenner at plus-8, Allen at plus-7, Dennis Schröder at plus-6, and Tidjane Salaün at plus-1.

All five Hornets starters were on the other side of zero. Brandon Miller was minus-16, Coby White minus-15, and Naz Reid minus-7. Kon Knueppel was minus-2 before leaving with left leg soreness after 5:51.

Schröder had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 fouls in 19:30. White, two games into his return from a left calf strain, went 2-of-9 in 18:06 under the minutes restriction Lee said would last a few games.

Reid scored 28 points, the most he has had in nine games with the Hornets. His previous high in a Charlotte uniform was 23, against the Miami Heat on Oct. 24.

He went 9-of-13 inside the arc and 2-of-5 from 3-point range, adding 9 rebounds and 2 assists in 36:11. Seventeen of his points came after halftime.

A week earlier, on Oct. 28 at Detroit, Lee kept Reid on the bench for the entire second half of a 97-89 loss. Reid scored 13 on 4-of-11 shooting against the Pistons on Monday.

Charlotte acquired him from Minnesota in the deal that sent LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves. In his Hornets debut, the Oct. 21 opener in Brooklyn, Reid had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The Hornets went 30-of-36 from the free-throw line. Brooklyn went 20-of-28 and was called for 34 fouls to Charlotte’s 29.

That added up to 10 more points at the line for the Hornets, the same margin they lost by. Brooklyn made 40 field goals to Charlotte’s 31 and 14 3-pointers to Charlotte’s 12.

Miller and Allen each went 5-of-5 at the line. Kalkbrenner was 4-of-4, and 4 of his 6 points came on free throws.

In the third quarter, Charlotte made 10 of 11 free throws and still lost the period 30-23.

Brooklyn committed 7 turnovers for 10 Charlotte points in the first half and 5 for 5 after it, and Fernández said the second-half number helped the Nets.

“I think when you start making those shots and you feel the energy, I think it’s easier to make the next one,” Fernández explained. “And I think that’s more for the players than for me. But at that point, I’m another fan, right? And I’m bringing more energy. And it’s contagious, like what they bring to us. And then we can keep making plays over plays, and not just in the offensive end, but also the defensive end.”

“You see the 40 from the field and 30 from three,” Fernández continued. “I think we foul a little too much. 36 free throws is a lot of free throws. But very, very happy with the complete game.”

Friday night brings the 6-2 Boston Celtics to Spectrum Center, with a 7 p.m. ET tip-off. Cleveland follows on Monday.