Charlotte Hornets Lose in Heartbreaking Fashion to the Brooklyn Nets, 120-118

The Charlotte Hornets’ three-game winning streak was snapped by the Brooklyn Nets as Randy Foye knocked down a three at the buzzer to steal the win.

The Charlotte Hornets (17-14) were defeated by the Brooklyn Nets (8-22) in a thrilling contest that featured back and forth action until the final buzzer. The Hornets played one of their more disappointing games of the season as the Nets came in tied with the Philadephia 76ers for the worst record in the NBA. This was supposed to be an easy win for Steve Clifford’s side but poor defending and Brooklyn’s electric three-point shooting proved to make all the difference.

Charlotte was without their sixth man in Marco Belinelli as he missed the game due to a sprained left ankle that he suffered in the team’s last outing. Jeremy Lamb stepped up in his absence as he scored 17 points off the bench to go along with four rebounds. Frank Kaminsky also helped fill his void by scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds. The offensive play of the second unit was not the problem in this one.

Turning Point

The turning point for this game looked to be when Jeremy Lin went down with a hamstring injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Charlotte was expected to take control and walk away with the victory but the rest of the Nets had other plans in mind. Despite some incredible players from Nicolas Batum (a four-point play and a late three), Brooklyn overcame the Hornets with their long range shooting. They knocked down three three-pointers in the final 1:40 with the final one being the game winner as time expired. Zeller’s potential game-winning putback on the other was nullified by the buzzer beater from Randy Foye who scored his first points of the game on that shot.

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They knocked down three three-pointers in the final 1:40 with the final one being the game winner as time expired. Zeller’s potential game-winning putback on the other was nullified by the buzzer beater from Randy Foye who scored his first points of the game on that shot.

Despite a fast start where Charlotte scored 40 points in the first quarter, they fell apart late defensively as they gave up 37 points in the fourth to Brooklyn. It’s tough to win games late when you do that. Plus. giving up 120 on the road is always a recipe for disaster.

Who Stepped Up

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets as he finished with 24 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Cody Zeller nearly had a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds while Kemba Walker was held to only 15 points on the night. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist continued his great work on the glass as he recorded a double-double with 12 points and a team-high 10 boards.

Without Belinelli, coach Clifford shortened his rotation to only nine players as Spencer Hawes didn’t get any playing time despite Roy Hibbert‘s struggles. Marvin Williams was almost a non-factor with only nine points and four rebounds in 28 minutes.

The Nets were led by Bojan Bogdanovic who scored a game-high 26 points. Season Kilpatrick added 23 points and Brooklyn had a number of unlikely heroes on the night. Brook Lopez scored 21 while Jeremy Lin finished with 17 points despite exiting the game early. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.

Highlight of the Night:

Shield your eyes Hornets’ fans.

Tweet of the Night:

"Quick Stings"

• The Nets shot (15-31) 48.4% from beyond the arc.
• Batum scored 20+ points for the seventh time this season and for the third time in a row.
• Lamb totaled his second-highest scoring mark of the year.
• Charlotte’s now 0-6 in games where their opponents make more free throws than them.
• The Hornets drop to 12-6 overall when leading after three quarters.

With the loss, the Hornets fall to 1-1 on the season series against the Nets. The two sides will meet twice more with both of those matchups coming in Charlotte. This was a series that the Hornets were expected to sweep but now they must settle for a 3-1 season series, at best.

Next: Kemba on the Outside Looking in of MVP Race

In their next game, the Charlotte Hornets will stay on the road as they will take on the Orlando Magic. It will be the second meeting between the division rivals as Steve Clifford’s side looks to take a 2-0 upper-hand in the season series with a win on in that one. The team will look to get back on track after this heartbreaking loss to the Nets.