Joe Harris, Kevin Durant help Nets bury Hornets
Joe Harris #12 high-fives Bruce Brown #1 and Blake Griffin #2 of the Brooklyn Nets during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center on April 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Joe Harris scored 26 points and Kevin Durant poured in 25 points and added 11 assists as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 130-115 on Friday night in a matchup of injury-riddled teams in New York.
Landry Shamet added 20 points off the Brooklyn bench.
The outcome means Brooklyn, which lost Wednesday night at Philadelphia, hasn’t dropped consecutive games since early February.
Miles Bridges poured in 33 points and Terry Rozier had 27 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, while rookie center Vernon Carey Jr. notched a 21-point outing.
Kevin Durant tallies 25 PTS, 11 AST in the @BrooklynNets W vs. Charlotte! pic.twitter.com/kjZ0rp51N1
— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2021
Charlotte has lost four games in a row for just the second time this season.
Durant was back in action after sitting on Wednesday night’s loss at Philadelphia.
The Nets shot 21 of 41 on 3-pointers and they sank 15 of 16 free throws. Harris was 6-for-9 on 3s.
The Hornets had a 35-point first quarter that tended to ease some concerns about recent ragged offense.
Still, Charlotte lost despite shooting 53 percent from the field. It was hampered by 19 turnovers.
The Nets were in their first game since the announced retirement of center LaMarcus Aldridge, who had made his debut with the team barely two weeks earlier in a victory against Charlotte. His sudden decision to retire was revealed Thursday based on a heart condition. He had 11 points and nine rebounds vs. the Hornets on April 1.
The Hornets’ growing injury list now includes guard Devonte’ Graham, who was out with a quad contusion. He’s the team’s fourth-leading scorer at 14.2 points per game. Only team scoring leader Rozier played among the Hornets’ leading six scorers based on average this season.
The Nets won two of three games against the Hornets this season, with the home team winning each matchup.
