Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts in the fourth quarter during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on December 31, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images/AFP
Kyrie Irving poured in 28 points and Kevin Durant had 23 as the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th game in a row by routing the host Charlotte Hornets 123-106 on Saturday night.
Brooklyn broke out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and rode 60-percent shooting from the field for the game to cruise to the win.
The Nets began their winning streak by beating the Hornets 122-116 in Brooklyn on Dec. 7, but Saturday’s meeting had a more comfortable margin. It was only the fourth game in the streak where the Nets won by double digits.
Brooklyn’s high-scoring duo had plenty of help as Nic Claxton and Royce O’Neale both racked up 14 points, Yuta Watanabe had 11 and T.J. Warren added 10.
The Nets made 13 shots from 3-point range, so it didn’t matter that Charlotte outscored them 19-14 on free throws. Irving shot 11-for-19 from the field with four treys, and Durant was 9-for-15.
The Nets have won 11 straight.
Peep the best plays from their streak so far 👀 pic.twitter.com/dpEzPspojg
— NBA (@NBA) January 1, 2023
LaMelo Ball’s 23 points and 11 assists and Mason Plumlee’s 22 points and 10 rebounds led the Hornets. They also received 16 points from Terry Rozier, 12 from P.J. Washington and 10 from Jalen McDaniels.
The Hornets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to begin a four-game homestand, but they’ve lost six of their last seven home games overall.
Ball accounted for five of Charlotte’s 11 baskets from 3-point range.
Several statistical categories were pretty much even — Charlotte’s 45-41 rebounding edge and Brooklyn’s 14 turnovers to Charlotte’s 12 — other than shooting percentages. The Hornets made 39.6 percent of their shots from the field.
Brooklyn outscored the Hornets 13-5 across the last 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter to build a 97-79 advantage. Watanabe drained two treys in the last 67 seconds of the quarter.
The Nets held a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to 61-49 by halftime. The Hornets made just 2 of 18 attempts from 3-point range in the first half.