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NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets came into Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets 19th in the league in defensive rating (115.2), but they were riding a three-game winning streak thanks to how well they were defending. As guard Cam Thomas alluded to, there will be some games where teams just get hot shooting the ball no matter the defense.
“I feel like Terry (Rozier) was just making tough shots,” Thomas said after scoring 26 points on 11-21 shooting from the field (2-of-5 from three) in Thursday’s 129-128 loss to the Hornets. Thomas came back to the Nets lineup after missing the previous nine games due to his left ankle sprain. While he came back like he never left, he had to contend with Rozier, Charlotte’s guard who went absolutely nuclear with 37 points and 13 assists.
“Like Mikal (Bridges) guarded him well, he shot over him,” Thomas explained. “Nic (Claxton) guarded him well (on) some possessions, just shot over (him) and made tough shots, you know? That’s what we do to teams. So, sometimes you just got to live with it.” What made this game different for the Nets compared to the first matchup with the Hornets on Oct. 30 was that Charlotte was able to keep up with Brooklyn offensively this time around despite not having LaMelo Ball or Brandon Miller.
As a team, the Hornets shot 46-of-91 from the field (50.5%), 21-of-36 from behind the three-point line (58.3%), and 16-of-16 (100%) from the free-throw line. While Charlotte was shooting absurdly well from virtually every spot on the floor, Brooklyn did little to get in the way of the Hornets and by the end, Charlotte made the last shot.