Even without Cam Thomas and the luxury of a healthy center , the Nets rallied from an early 17-point hole to beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-115 on Tuesday at Barclays Center. A balanced scoring effort, fueled by a season-high 34 points from veteran forward Cam Johnson, was enough to outlast the unremitting visitors down the stretch. With the Nets clinging to a 109-108 lead with two minutes left, Trendon Watford, making his second appearance of the season off the bench, proceeded to score seven straight points to put them up 116-111 with 38.
9 seconds left. It was a three-point game with 5.5 second left, but a 3-pointer from Charlotte’s Brandon Miller fell short as time expired.
Watford led all Nets reserves with 10 points in the win. In snapping a season-worst three game losing streak against Charlotte, Brooklyn (6-9) earned its sixth win of the season and first of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. It is now 1-1 in East Group A and will play its next NBA Cup game on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
The short-handed Nets found themselves down 22-9 out of the gate. Charlotte went 8-of-12 from 3-point range in the first quarter and had a 14-point lead entering the second. That advantage swelled to 17 points with 10:05 left in the first half.
But there was too much basketball left to be played. Jordi Fernandez’s Nets never stopped fighting, eventually channeled better effort at both ends of the court and rallied. A Jalen Wilson trey with 1:42 left in the f.