Recap/Analysis: Hornets bounce back with convincing win over Nets – At The Hive

Three players notched double doubles as the Charlotte Hornets picked up a solid win over the Brooklyn Nets, 110-99.

Summary

The first quarter was the Cam Thomas show. He scored the Nets’ first 11 points and 16 of their first 21. That gave the Nets an early lead, but the Hornets went on their own run after he went to the bench, with Miles Bridges serving as the Cam Thomas of the Hornets. The first quarter ended with the Hornets trailing 35-31.

Thomas missed two tough mid range attempts to start the second quarter and disappeared after that. The attacked the Nets inside and got a couple of threes from international players to go on a run that helped them to a comfortable lead. It looked like a completely different team than the one that just lost the Wizards. The Hornets were decisive and aggressive and were making quick extra passes all over the floor. The dominant second quarter gave the Hornets an 11 point lead at the half.

The Nets got a chance at a seven point play to start the half after Cam Thomas hit a three while being flagrantly fouled, but a Dennis Schroder 3-pointer on the second half of the possession drew iron. Brandon Miller got most of it back with his own three next time down. The Nets answered with a series of 3-pointers to make the game close again. It was short lived though. A turnover and a couple of defensive breakdowns by the Nets led to three uncontested dunks for the Hornets in quick succession. That helped them restore most of their lead, and they went into the fourth up by eight.

The start of the fourth quarter featured a parade of missed shots and turnovers from both teams. Aleksej Pokusevski helped start a Hornets run that would put the game out reach. He hit a corner three off a behind the back from Vasilije Macic then swatted a pass that led to a Hornets run out. He made a layup to put the Hornets up 11 a few possessions later. Brandon Miller hit a tough leaner to put the Nets on the ropes, then he set up Miles Bridges for a fast break layup to ice the game while getting fouled. It was an ugly fourth quarter, but the Hornets did enough to stave the Nets off.

The good

This was not the seem Hornets team that lost to the Wizards the night before. They moved the ball and played much more decisively than we’ve seen in recent weeks. They actually cut to the basket off the ball a little bit and had more quick swings around the perimeter than we’ve probably seen all year. The Hornets played good offensive basketball, and it unsurprisingly led to decent offensive production.

On that same token but on the other side of the court, the Hornets made an adjustment from whatever they were doing last night. After letting the Wizards score 44 points via a virtual layup line in the fourth quarter, the Hornets clamped the Nets down around the rim. They held the Nets to 48.5% shooting around the rim.

Brandon Miller set the Hornets rookie record with a made three in his 19th consecutive game. His 3-poiont shot wasn’t on tonight, but he was extraordinarily efficient inside the arc. The shot making was impressive as always, and he complemented that with a good all around floor game.

Aleksej Pokusevski got his first real minutes with the Hornets and made sure he brought good Poku to play them. He scored seven points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, and notched both a steal and a block in just eight minutes. It was a very strong start to his Hornets career.

Vasilije Micic got his first NBA double double with 12 points and 10 assists.

Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 24 points and was kind of quiet doing that.

The Bad

Defensive rebounds continue to be a problem with this current roster set up. The Nets rebounded a third of their own misses. The Hornets did a good job making it tough for the Nets to score off those rebounds, but it’d be better to just secure the rebounds the first time.

What’s Next

The Hornets travel to Detroit on Monday to start a stretch where five out of six games are on the road.