Hornets come through late, beat Nets 112-105

The Charlotte Hornets recovered from an ugly third quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-105 Saturday night. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Ramon Sessions each had 17 points for the boys in teal.

This one looked like it would be done early when the Hornets dropped a 17-point lead on the Nets late in the first quarter.

But that wasn’t enough drama. Not for these guys.

So, the Hornets entered the third quarter with a 14-point lead and saw it whittled down to a two-point deficit by the fourth. It seemed like the Hornets were gassed.

But then, life!

The Hornets dropped seven 3-pointers on the Nets in the fourth quarter and limited them to 40.9 percent shooting. Nicolas Batum helped spark the run by draining two consecutive long balls, the first of which ended up being a 4-point play:

Batum finished with an absolutely brilliant 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals. He didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but he was everywhere against the Nets.

Kidd-Gilchrist’s effort on both ends of the floor paid dividends once again. He grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked two shots in addition to the 17 points he scored.

One area of concern, however, is the Hornets’ ability to defend 3-pointers. The Nets drained 17 of their 41 attempts tonight, many of which came when the Nets made their run in the third quarter. The Hornets struggled with that during their five-game losing streak, so let’s hope this was a fluke-ish showing.

Brook Lopez also had his way with Cody Zeller and whatever other bigs the Hornets threw at him. The Hornets don’t have a big to match the sheer size, strength, and smarts of a player like Lopez. As a result, he finished with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.

Still, the Hornets’ group attack was too much for the Nets. Seven Hornets put up double figures in the scoring column. It would’ve been eight had Marvin Williams connected on just one more shot.

Any game they don’t need Kemba Walker to take over is a good game. Kemba finished with 16 points and six assists, by the way.

This win gives the Hornets a three-game winning streak and bumps them back up to the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Hornets next play on Monday against the Washington Wizards in Charlotte.