Hornets at Nets
The Charlotte Hornets look like a team that can contend in the Eastern Conference when the backcourt is healthy and productive, and the frontcourt is providing any kind of support on the offensive end. The Hornets enjoyed both of those things during a three-game winning streak and will try to make it four in a row when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
Charlotte can count on consistent production from point guard Kemba Walker, but backcourt mate Nicolas Batum can be prone to peaks and valleys and is reaching a peak at the moment. The 28-year-old Frenchman bottomed out with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting at Atlanta on Dec. 17 but came back with 23 points and 10 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers in the next game and delivered his first triple-double of the season with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 103-91 triumph over the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Jeremy Lin was part of the backcourt rotation in Charlotte last season before signing with the Nets over the summer and is struggling to drag his new team into the win column. Brooklyn just finished with three straight games against conference finalists from last spring and lost to Toronto, Golden State and Cleveland to extend its latest slide to five straight.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (17-13): Just as important as the backcourt on Friday was the play of Cody Zeller, Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the starting frontcourt, with the three going a combined 13-of-25 from the floor. Kidd-Gilchrist, who was suffering through a 6-of-22 shooting slump over the previous three games, was 5-of-9 from the floor and added nine rebounds and four blocks. "If you’re going to win in this league, you have to bring it every night," Hornets coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "We have to take advantage of our strengths, which are our basketball IQ and our physicality."
ABOUT THE NETS (7-22): Lin scored in double figures in each of his six games since returning from a hamstring injury but Brooklyn dropped all six and fell behind by 46 points in the third quarter on Friday before Cleveland pulled all of its starters and the Nets closed it to a 119-99 final. "They just came out and jumped on us immediately," center Brook Lopez told reporters. "They were more aggressive than us. We seemed a bit timid and tentative. I don’t know what it was, but they took advantage of that. They’re a team that feeds off that." Lopez was one of the few to hold his own against the Warriors and the Cavaliers, shooting a combined 16-of-27 from the floor and totaling 44 points in the two losses after sitting out at Toronto.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets backup PG Spencer Dinwiddie is carving out a bigger spot in the rotation and went 6-of-7 from the floor in 21 minutes on Friday - the second time in three games he logged at least 21 minutes.
2. Hornets SG Marco Belinelli (ankle) left Friday's game and is day-to-day.
3. Charlotte took the last five in the series, including a 99-95 win at Brooklyn on Nov. 4.