Hornets at Nets
Two teams in the thick of the race for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference will go head-to-head Wednesday night when the Brooklyn Nets host the Charlotte Hornets. The seventh through 12th-place teams in the East began Wednesday within three games of each other, and the Hornets won Tuesday night to move into a tie for eighth with the Nets. The Hornets are 15-9 since Jan. 2, and that stretch included a five-game losing streak.
The Nets are coming off a big win against the West-leading Golden State Warriors after beating the Dallas Mavericks two days earlier and will try to match their season-long win streak at three games. Jarrett Jack hit the game-winner with 1.1 seconds left against the Warriors, joining Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans as the only players this season to make multiple go-ahead shots with two seconds or less remaining on the game clock in a tied game in the fourth quarter or overtime. Charlotte point guard Mo Williams has been playing exceptionally well since he was acquired in a trade last month.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Charlotte), YES (New York)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (25-33): Al Jefferson struggled against the Nets in their last meeting in mid-December, and that was also the second game of a back-to-back situation. He’s coming off a 21-point, 16-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Lakers and how he bounces back for this game could be the key. He was held to eight points in the second game of his most recent back-to-back Feb. 22 against the Mavericks, but scored 30 in the same situation two weeks earlier against the Indiana Pacers.
ABOUT THE NETS (25-33): Joe Johnson exploited his height advantage against Charlotte shooting guard Gerald Henderson when these teams met Dec. 13 in Charlotte and scored 14 of his 22 points in the first quarter. The Hornets have since added Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to the starting lineup and he’s a true small forward that might have a better shot at staying in front of Johnson, who should be itching to play well after scoring five points against the Warriors — his lowest-scoring game since Nov. 30. Johnson has reached double figures in points and rebounds three times this season after not recording a double-double since 2008.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nets are playing the second game of a a five-game homestand, their longest since they hosted seven in a row during the 2010-11 season.
2. Brooklyn is 10-0 at home during the month of March over the last two seasons.
3. The Nets shot 16-for-23 from 3-point range when these teams met in December, the best 3-point shooting percentage in franchise history with at least 15 attempts.
PREDICTION: Nets 95, Hornets 89