Nets at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in more than two months this week but bounced back nicely on Wednesday and remain in the race for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Brooklyn Nets, who visit the Hornets on Friday, appear to have already given up on chasing wins as they evaluate some of the players at the bottom of the roster with an eye to the future.
Charlotte lost at Cleveland and Toronto before finishing off the three-game road trip with an easy 111-97 win at the New York Knicks to improve to 17-22 away from home. That less-than-inspiring road record is the main reason the Hornets are pushing so hard to lock up the third or fourth seed in the East and have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets shut down veteran frontcourt players Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young already and did not put up much of a fight on the defensive end in a 121-103 loss at Washington on Wednesday. The setback was the sixth straight for Brooklyn, which is losing by an average of 19.3 points in that span.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE NETS (21-57): The early offseason for Young and Lopez means more playing time for former first-round pick Thomas Robinson, and he is showing that he can be a part of the team’s future. The Kansas product is with his fifth organization since being drafted fifth overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2012 and is finally getting a chance in the starting lineup. Robinson has responded with five straight double-doubles and collected 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with 10 boards in Wednesday’s setback.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (45-33): Charlotte guard Kemba Walker led the team’s post All-Star break surge up the standings but cooled off a bit of late and slumped to 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting in Tuesday’s 96-90 loss at Toronto. Walker found his form again at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday and went 11-of-18 from the floor, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range, en route to 34 points in the key win. Walker’s explosion helped cover the loss of fellow guard Nicolas Batum, who missed his second straight game with a knee injury and is day-to-day.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets G Bojan Bogdanovic (rest) looked rusty after two games off and went 2-of-12 from the floor on Wednesday.
2. Hornets C Frank Kaminsky started in place of Batum on Wednesday and delivered 16 points.
3. Charlotte took each of the first three meetings this season, including a 116-111 triumph at home on Nov. 18.