CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ It was the end of a five-game, 11-day road trip that saw the Nets hopscotch from Cleveland to Sacramento to Los Angeles and Oakland before returning to the Eastern time zone Thursday night at Spectrum Center. They had every reason to feel as if they were on their last legs after four straight tough losses.
But the Nets not only found their will but also the way to victory lane in a 125-111 victory over the Hornets. When they lost to the defending champion Warriors on Tuesday, coach Steve Kerr noted how unusually good they are on offense for a team with a lopsided losing record, and they showed it against the Hornets by scoring at least 30 points in the first three quarters behind the leadership of Allen Crabbe's 29-point performance.
The victory was only the third in the past 19 games for the Nets (21-45), who finally topped last season's NBA-worst win total. They also got double-figures scoring from Caris LeVert (22), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (18 points, 12 rebounds), DeMarre Carroll (15), D'Angelo Russell (13) and Joe Harris (11), and they shot 51.6 percent from the field.
The Hornets (28-38) were led by 21 points from Kemba Walker and got 19 from Dwight Howard.
The Nets demonstrated their resolve when they opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 burst that pushed their lead to 103-87 on a 3-pointer by Joe Harris. It wasn't so much that they had improved on defense, but the Nets were operating far more efficiently on offense. They were more circumspect about their 3-point shooting, driving to the rim more often rather than settling for contested 3s.
The Hornets responded with a 10-2 run midway through the fourth quarter, including a four-point possession when Kemba Walker hit a 3 and converted the foul as they cut their deficit to 110-102. But that was as close as they got as the Nets ran off the next 13 points, including a four-point play from Carroll for a 123-102 lead.
The Nets reached the end of their five-game, cross-country road trip reeling from three last-minute losses plus a fourth-quarter KO punch from the Warriors. Despite the strong competition level, it's not the upward trend coach Kenny Atkinson was hoping to see at the end of the season.
Yet Atkinson said, "I think we're playing a little better. We've got to get over the hump. This is a challenge, the last game of the road trip coming back from the west coast. I want us to bring the juice. We have to overcome some adversity in terms of that. But keep improving. I wish we would have won two, maybe three wins on this road trip. That's frustrating. It would be fantastic to finish this road trip with a stellar performance and a victory."
Early on, the Nets showed they were anything but dispirited by the rough road trip. They led by as many as eight points in the opening quarter and shot 63.6 percent from the field. The Hornets bounced back with a 17-4 second-quarter run that included eight points from Jeremy Lamb off the bench to build a 46-41 lead.
Rather than let go of the rope, the Nets dug in and put together a 20-5 run that ended in spectacular fashion when Crabbe hit four straight 3s to give them a 63-53 lead. At that point, Crabbe had made all seven of his shot attempts, including six from 3-point range for 20 points to help him effectively shed a recent shooting slump. The Nets reached halftime holding a 65-59 lead and shooting 61 percent.
Toward the end of the third quarter, the Nets went on a 9-0 run that was aided by a four-point possession thanks to a flagrant foul by the Hornets' Cody Zeller. That gave the Nets a 92-78 lead, and they made it to the fourth quarter holding an 11-point lead and a shot at a much-needed win.
