NORTH CAROLINA – Brooklyn Nets recorded its 11th consecutive victory in the 2022-2023 NBA Season via a 123-106 domination of Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Kyrie Irving led the way with 28 points while Kevin Durant contributed 23 markers. The Nets grabbed the solo second place in the Eastern Conference with 24-12 after Milwaukee Bucks’ (23-13) loss to Washington Wizards (17-21), 118-95.
Nicholas Claxton and Royce O’Neale also made their presence felt for the streaking Brooklyn with 14 markers apiece, while Yuta Watanabe and T.J. Warren had 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Nets set the tone in the opening half with a double-digit spread behind Durant and Irving but the Hornets threatened early in the third quarter with three-point hits from LaMelo Ball to cut the deficit to six points.
Brooklyn, however, regained their scoring touch via outside conversions from Watanabe, Warren and Seth Curry to widen the lead anew to double-digit before reaching as high as 20 points.
Ball flirted with a triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, Mason Plumlee had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington and Jalen McDaniels had 16, 12 and 10, respectively, for the Hornets (10-27).
Denver Nuggets (24-12) rode on another triple-double by Nikola Jokić as they walloped Boston Celtics (26-11), 123-111, in a battle of top-seed teams in the two conference.
Jokić finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, Bruce Brown added 21 markers, while Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Bones Hyland had 19, 18 and 17 markers, respectively.
Memphis Grizzlies (23-13), on the other hand, cruised to a 118-108 triumph over the Sacramento Kings (19-16) to stay within striking distance in the Western Conference.
Ja Morant tallied 35 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Dillon Brooks, Jaren Jackson Jr.and John Konchar had 15, 14 and 12, respectively, while Steven Adams had double-double 11 points and 23 rebounds.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 123 – Irving 28, Durant 23, Claxton 14, O’Neale 14, Watanabe 11, Warren 10, Curry 8, Sumner 8, Sharpe 5, Simmons 2, Thomas 0.
CHARLOTTE 106 – Ball 23, Plumlee 22, Rozier 16, Washington 12, McDaniels 10, Williams 8, Maledon 8, Thor 3, Hayward 2, Richards 2, Bouknight 0, Jones 0.
Quarterscores: 32-22, 61-49, 97-79, 123-106./PN
