Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 33 as Nets beat Hornets 102-86
The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center on Sunday and won 102-86. Brooklyn wins the regular-season series in a 4-0 sweep.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 33 points and eight rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 24 points and eight assists. Joe Harris had 12 points and Cameron Johnson had 11 points.
For the Hornets, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17 points and seven rebounds while Terry Rozier had 16 points and four assists. Dennis Smith Jr. had 15 points off the bench and Gordon Hayward had 12 points.
In the first half, the Nets dominated from the opening tip. Brooklyn was able to lead by as many as 31 points in the half thanks to some incredible shooting by Bridges (21 points) and Dinwiddie (15 points) as well as some stellar defense. The Nets scored nine points off seven Charlotte turnovers as well.
In the second half, Charlotte actually won the half 45-32. It was clear that the Hornets were playing with more effort than they did in the first half and it showed as they limited the Nets to 16 points each in the final two quarters. However, it was a classic case of too little, too late as Charlotte ran out of time in the end to complete the comeback.
Here are your Nets player grades:
Spencer Dinwiddie: A
Dinwiddie did a good job of scoring the ball in this one. He was able to use his speed and handle to get to the rim and he had his three-ball working as he hit a couple of threes from well behind the line. He did a good job of doing some of the thankless work and mixing it up in the paint to grab some rebounds. He also did a wonderful job of passing the ball and finding the open teammates that Charlotte was leaving open all night long.
Mikal Bridges: A+
Bridges did a great job of scoring the ball in this contest. He was unstoppable shooting his mid-range pull-ups and he mixed his three-point shot as well. Bridges showed in this game that he is getting better with handling the ball in the pick-and-roll and either taking the shot or finding an open teammates somewhere on the court. He wasn’t just scoring in this one as he brought his lunchpail to work to by getting some tough rebounds as well.
Cameron Johnson: C
Johnson had a tough time shooting the ball in this exhibition. He had trouble finishing at the rim and his three-ball was not falling. Johnson tried to make up for it by getting some tough rebounds and by playing solid defense. Johnson took a hard hit to the face from Mark Williams in the first half so that could have contributed to his shooting woes.
Dorian Finney-Smith: C
Finney-Smith struggled mightily shooting the ball against the Hornets. Contrary to Friday at the Boston Celtics, Finney-Smith could not buy a bucket in this one despite getting similar good looks. It will be interesting to see when Finney-Smith will be able to turn around his shooting for Brooklyn. He did a good job of rebounding the basketball and he played his usual good defense on guys like PJ Washington.
Nic Claxton: A
Claxton did not score much in this one, but he was effective nonetheless. He had a few nice drives to the rim that either resulted in a strong finish at the basket or in free-throws. Claxton was a constant presence on the boards and he even had a few nice dishes to open teammates for easy buckets. He had another block party on his watch as he seems to be getting his legs under him again.
Royce O'Neale: C
O’Neale struggled shooting the ball in this one. He could not get his shot to go from anywhere on the floor which is surprising since he is one of the team’s best shooters. Despite his poor shooting, he did show off his passing repertoire in this one as he found open teammates for easy shots on more than one occasion.
Cam Thomas: B-
Thomas did a good job of scoring the ball in the first half. He played only seven minutes, but in that time, he did his job with regards to scoring and rebounding. Interestingly, he did not play at all in the second half even though the game was a blowout throughout until the fourth quarter essentially.
Seth Curry: D
Curry could not get anything from the field in this game. He tried his best, but he just couldn’t find the basket in this one outside of free-throws. He did play solid defense in this one to offset his rough shooting.
Joe Harris: B
Harris shot the ball incredibly well in this one. He was essentially lights-out from behind the three-point line and as a result, Joe E. Buckets made another appearance this season. Other than that, he had trouble defending without fouling in this one and that may have led to him playing just under 19 minutes.
Yuta Watanabe: D
Watanabe came back after missing some time with back soreness. He was unable to get anything to go from the field, but it was good to see him get back out there and move around like he normally does.
