Hornets 113, Nets 99
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker scored 22 points and the Charlotte Hornets shot 49.4 percent in cruising to a 113-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
Guard Troy Daniels had 17 points -- with 5-of-7 coming from 3-point range -- off the bench for the Hornets (46-33), who are fighting to catapult up the bunched Eastern Conference standings in their final games of the regular season and secure homecourt advantage in the playoffs.
The Hornets will be no worse than the sixth seed in the playoffs.
Wayne Ellington led Brooklyn with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while Thomas Robinson added 16 points and 17 rebounds. The Nets dropped their seventh straight -- and 11th consecutive road game -- in falling to 21-58. Charlotte also secured the four-game season sweep of the Nets, who have not lost four or more in a row to Charlotte since 2000-01.
The Hornets seized control in the second quarter with a 11-2 run to end the period. In the final 3:11, Daniels had two 3-pointers and Walker had another to push Charlotte to a 50-43 halftime lead.
The third quarter brought more Charlotte dominance as the Hornets outscored the Nets 34-21 behind 11 points from Walker. Marvin Williams (12 points) added six points in the third quarter, while Nicolas Batum (14 points, six rebounds, six assists) had five points and four rebounds.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, shot 32 percent in the third quarter.
NOTES: Charlotte F Nicolas Batum played Friday after missing two games with a strained left knee. The Hornets are 6-6 without Batum in the starting lineup this season. ... Even though the Hornets have clinched a spot in the playoffs, don't expect starters suddenly to begin sitting out the remaining three games of the regular season to rest. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said he is an "old-school" believer in rhythm being more important than rest heading into the postseason. "I think what's happened is everybody in a certain way emulates San Antonio, but when you watch, San Antonio has a seasonal plan," Clifford said. "They're sitting guys out periodically starting in December. It's very organized. I think there's a big difference between what they do versus, 'We make the playoffs and now we're going to sit three out of six games.'" ... Brooklyn rookie F Chris McCullough notched his first start of the season against the Hornets and scored a career-high 12 points, one game after recording career highs in points (10), steals (five) and minutes played (25) at Washington on Wednesday. "There were a couple plays there in the second half that we hadn't seen him make, putting it on the deck, getting to the rim," Nets coach Tony Brown said. "We like his activity." ... Both Nets C Brook Lopez and F Thaddeus Young missed the game to rest.