Nic Claxton scored 16 points as the Brooklyn Nets took control in the third quarter and earned a 97-89 victory over the Charlotte Hornets Monday night in New York.
Cameron Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe added 14 apiece as the Nets won for the fifth time in six games since enduring a seven-game losing streak and 12 losses in 13 games. Trendon Watford contributed 13 points, while Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell chipped in 11 apiece to help the Nets beat the Hornets for the third time this season. Brooklyn outscored them 51-35 in the second and third quarters.
Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate scored a career-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds but exited after the third quarter due to a right eye abrasion.
LaMelo Ball scored five points in 10 minutes and exited in the second quarter because of right ankle soreness. On Sunday, he sat out of Charlotte’s loss to the Detroit Pistons due to a sore left ankle.
Rookie Tidjane Salaun added 16 points off the bench, while Nick Smith Jr. added 13. Charlotte was held under 90 points for the second time against the Nets this season.
Miles Bridges was held to only seven points on 3-of-11 shooting as the Hornets shot 41 percent from the field, missed 25 of 31 3-point tries, and lost for the eighth time in nine games.
After a slow start, the Nets held a 34-30 lead through the opening quarter by making nine of their final 12 shots of the period. Williams, Watford, and Keon Johnson hit 3s in a span of 1:40 to give the Nets a 47-36 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left before the Nets took a pair of 15-point leads en route to a 61-49 halftime lead.
Johnson and Claxton converted dunks on consecutive trips to push Brooklyn’s lead to 76-59 with 5:34 left in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Tosan Evbuomwan with 2:41 left gave the Nets their first 20-point lead and they held an 85-65 lead into the fourth.
Brooklyn upped its lead to 22 early in the fourth and pulled most of its starters for good a few minutes later before Charlotte made the final score respectable in the final minutes.
