Charlotte Hornets Take Down Kevin Durant and the Nets to Earn Their First Win of the Season

After playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Charlotte Hornets were able to come out with their first victory of the 2020-21 season.

The Charlotte Hornets were in desperate need of a win after dropping their first two games in heartbreaking fashion, and a win was exactly what they EARNED! This was no easy task for the Hornets. Kevin Durant, Kyrie, and company were coming into Charlotte hot, some experts were even saying that this was the best team in the NBA.

Look at what Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens said about the Nets after losing to them on Christmas day.

There is no doubt that the Nets are one of the most talented teams in the NBA. This Charlotte Hornets’ win does not take anything away from the Brooklyn Nets, but instead, it speaks volumes about this young and talented Hornets’ team!

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played a very good game. KD scored 29 points, hitting 60% (9/15) from the field and 71.4% of his three-pointers, hitting 5 of 7. For Kyrie, he scored 25 points and hit 58.8% of his shots from the field, hitting 10 of 17. This obviously was not a case where the Nets played down to the Hornets, but rather it was the Hornets playing up to the Nets, going stride for stride with one of the most talented teams in the NBA.

The Charlotte Hornets came into Sunday night’s game in dire need of a win, and many people thought that they would run into a brick wall with the Nets. Instead of listening to the outside noise, they lowered their chins and braced for the punches and when they got hit, they punched right back.

For the first two games of the season, the Charlotte Hornets struggled with their consistency when it came to team chemistry and the ability to play a full 48 minutes of winning basketball. In the first two games, the team had stretches where they looked like one of the best teams in the NBA, and in the next breath, they would make unnecessary mistakes and in turn, look like one of the worst teams. That was not the case on Sunday night.

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The Hornets played hard nose basketball against the Nets, outrebounding them 52 to 46, thanks in large part to the 2019 first-round pick, PJ Washington. Washington would finish the game with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 huge rebounds. He played like he had a personal vendetta against the Brooklyn Nets.

While outrebounding the Nets was impressive, what was even more eye-opening was the differential of points in the paint between the Hornets and the Nets. The Charlotte Hornets outscored the Nets in the paint 64 to 26. The Hornets protected the paint, and that was one of the keys to their success.

Gordon Hayward finished the night as the team leader in points. This is very refreshing for the Hornets front office to see. They always love to see their money be put to good use. Hayward would finish the game with 28 points in 35 minutes of play, hitting 60% (12/20) from the field and 66.7% (2/3) from three. He was also the team leader in assist (7).

Terry Rozier was second on the team in scoring, totaling 19 points in 30 minutes of play. He hit 50% (7/14) of his shots from the field and he also posterized Kevin Durant. See below.

Devonte’ Graham was third in points, scoring 13 points in his 35 minutes of play, hitting only 33.3% from the field and from three. While Graham had a pretty quiet night, he hit a big three-pointer late in the fourth to keep Charlotte ahead.

Bismack Biyombo had a decent showing, scoring 12 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, and he had one huge block against Kyrie Irving. Miles Bridges had 10 points and LaMelo finished with 6 points.

The Charlotte Hornets needed this win badly and they knew it. The team came out ready for a dog fight and that’s exactly what kind of game this was. The Hornets finally played their game for an entire 48 minutes and they played with grit and intensity.

They’ll look to continue to play good team basketball as they travel out to Dallas to take on the Mavericks on Wednesday. Until then, they can enjoy this hard-fought win. They deserved it!