3 Nets takeaways from 117-86 loss to Brandon Miller, Hornets
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (18-58) were coming off their first win in 11 games that allowed them to feel good about themselves, even for just a couple of days. Brooklyn had a tough matchup in front of their fans with the Charlotte Hornets (40-36) visiting Barclays Center on Tuesday, but it looks like the Nets weren't ready to play to begin the matchup.
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The Netslost to the Hornets 117-86 after losing the first and third quarters by a combined 30 points thanks to how much Brooklyn's starting unit struggled against the surging Hornets. Forward Josh Minott led the way for the Nets with his 14 points and two rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench while forward Chaney Johnson had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Brooklyn began the game on the wrong end of a 35-18 score to begin the first quarter as Charlotte shot 54.5% from the field and 40.0% from behind the three-point line. Hornets guard Brandon Miller, who finished the game with 25 points and three assists, scored 16 points in the first quarter, showing what kind of game he was set up for with the way he was shooting the ball.
The Nets were able to close the gap somewhat in the second quarter as they won the period 27-23 thanks to Minott and rookie Nolan Traore scoring six points each in the quarter. However, the second quarter showed that Brooklyn wasn't going to hit the shots necessary to keep up with one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference in the Hornets, but the Nets struggled in areas other than just shooting.
Charlotte, thanks to their center rotation of Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner, were able to out-rebound Brooklyn 47-30 and it seemed like the trend repeated through most of the hustle stats. The Nets weren't able to continue their winning streak against the Hornets, but they will have the chance to begin a new streak with Friday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Josh Minott Leads Team In Scoring Again
Minott has been one of the players benefitting from the Nets needing to evaluate players towards the end of the roster and/or didn't see much playing time during the season. Minott did not shoot well from three-point land (1-of-7), but he was somewhat-efficient scoring the ball overall despite the Hornets turning this game into a blowout pretty early on.
Chaney Johnson Shows Off Scoring Punch
Johnson has shown much of what he can do during the second half of the season, especially with backup center Day'Ron Sharpe being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. Johnson had some solid moments scoring the ball against Charlotte's formidable backcourt and while he wasn't much of a force on the boards, he once again displayed his ability to score at multiple levels.
Brooklyn Drops The Ball Defensively
One game after holding the Sacramento Kings to 99 points, the Nets didn't have an answer for the Hornets' offense that has been one of the best units in the league all season. Be that as it may, Brooklyn is usually better rebounding the basketball and with Charlotte getting so many wide-open shots over the course of the game, the Nets have to go back to the drawing board to fix some of those breakdowns.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 117-86 loss to Brandon Miller, Hornets