NBA: Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets
NEW YORK (77 WABC) – The Brooklyn Nets knew they couldnt let another win slip through their fingers.
The Nets held an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but by the time the clock 6:28 in the fourth quarter their lead had dwindled to just three. However, unlike recent games in Denver and Utah , the Nets bared down and defeated the Charlotte Hornets 101-91 at Barclays Center Wednesday night.
“Just sustaining the great mindset, not getting too ahead of ourselves,” Taurean Prince said about the difference between this game and others. “Just being professional in all facets of the game, whether its continuing to get stops, continuing to get consecutive stops. I think thats important. … We know we can score with the best of them. We just have to continue to show consistency defensively.”
Ian and Sarah with their thoughts on the @BrooklynNets win tonight.#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/RKSE1h372V
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 21, 2019
Prince finished the night with 20 points, while Jarrett Allen led the Nets in scoring with 22 points and Spencer Dinwiddie put up 20 points of his own. It was the first time this season that the Nets have had three players record 20 or more points in a game.
Allen and DeAndre Jordan combined for 36 points against the Hornets and the Nets held the advantage along the boards 53-41.
“Consistency, four quarters – its been a theme,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I thought it was a solid four quarters. We didnt have the big lapses. I thought our defense was outstanding. Offensively, we are going to have to find something there when we were just really struggling.
“You could say we got some shots, but, like we talked pregame, weve got to find a way to generate some offense.”
The Nets had dropped four of their last five games entering Wednesday, which included drop losses to Phoenix, Utah, Denver and Indiana. It was also during that stretch that the Nets had seen several leads slip away late in the game.
“You look at all the other times the other team came back our defensive scheme started to get messed up,” Allen said. “Offense was starting to get a little shaky, but tonight we stood in place and held our ground.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltD8KsxA_zM
The Nets played Wednesday nights game without the services of Kyrie Irving, who missed his third consecutive game with a shoulder injury. Prior to the win, Atkinson addressed the injury saying he didnt think it was a long-term thing.
“I think he has a situation that’s prevented him from playing,” Atkinson said. “And like I said before, this is kind of like a collaborative thing — we’ve talked about it, but this is the best course of action. Do I think it’s like a long-term thing? Like I said, no. I don’t think he could play through it right now, quite honestly. That’s where we are. And we’ll see where that goes.”
The Nets were already without guard Caris Levert, who underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. And Brooklyn will not have star offseason acquisition Kevin Durant available until next season.
Still, the injury-riddled Nets have been able to get some other players into the lineup, which is something that Jordan sees as a positive.
“Obviously were missing three of our best players. Any team would say that sucks, but it gives other guys opportunities,” Jordan said. “So whenever we do get our full roster back well be even better because those guys have experience and are able to gel with each other. Then it just makes us a better team once we get everyone back.”
