The Charlotte Hornets gave the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers all they could handle on Friday, coming up just short of pulling one of the biggest upsets of the NBA season.
That meant the Brooklyn Nets, who came into Saturday’s matchup at the Spectrum Center on a six-game losing skid of their own, knew they would be in for a dog fight, even if star guard LaMelo Ball was sidelined due to a right ankle injury.
The Nets appeared to be in control, leading by 15, 58-43 at the break, and still maintained their advantage, and were up 82-76 entering the final frame, but could not seal the deal. The Hornets closed the contest on a 22-5 surge over the final 7:09 to end their nine-game losing streak and extend Brooklyn’s to an unlucky seven.
The 105-102 loss wasted what was one of D’Angelo Russell’s best performances of the season, the former No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State. He played like a mad man, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 29 minutes.
When the Hornets cut it to a two-possession game, with 11:17 remaining, Russell responded immediately with two and-ones and a transition 3 to keep them at arm’s length. The veteran guard scored the Nets’ first 15 points in the fourth quarter, which extended their lead to 14 with just over seven minutes left, but Hornets refused to go away.
Cam Thomas got his shot blocked by Miles Bridges on a potential game-winner. From there, the Hornets salted the game away at the free throw line.
Charlotte enjoyed the sweet taste of victory for the first time since their stunning win over the Lakers in Los Angeles on February 19.
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Bridges scored 26 points and cleaned the glass with 12 rebounds, handed out five dimes. Nick Smith Jr. scored 19 points while having a poor shooting night, 6 for 17, 3 for 9 from distance and 4 of 4 from the charity strike.
The Nets fell to 21-42 with the loss. Cam Johnson missed Saturday’s game because of left knee soreness.
“I think it’s just disappointing because of our effort to finish possessions. 34 second-chance points to our nine, that’s a 25-point differential,” coach Jordi Fernandez said following the game. Through three quarters, it seemed like the Nets had complete control of the game with players like D’Angelo Russell going off for 28 points in the contest, but it was clear that the Hornets were not discouraged by the early deficit on the second night of a back-to-back.
“Obviously, if you look at the numbers defensively, offensively, we had the lead and we were not responsible (enough) to finish the game,” Fernandez continued. “You could tell how our energy and our engagement was up and down. That’s immature. I’m the first one that has got to control that, and this happened to our team, it’s my fault.”
Thomas was Brooklyn’s second-leading scorer, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting. The Hornets shot 52.4% in the fourth quarter and were active on defense, forcing six turnovers, which gave them an extra 12 points.
The Nets will return to action on Monday against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers at Barclays Center.
The Hornets kick off a four-game road trip in Miami on Monday night.
