NEW YORK — Jacque Vaugn and the Nets got a blowout victory of their own this time.
After getting an epic comeback victory against the Boston Celtics two days prior to end a four-game losing streak filled with blowout losses, the Nets got a blowout win in their favor, beating the Charlotte Hornets 102-86.
The game was decided early as the Nets led by 29 points at halftime. Vaughn’s team held their opponent to a season-low 41 points in the first half, surpassing their previous record set after holding the Milwaukee Bucks to 43 points in October.
The win came fairly easy, and it should’ve been considering the lowly Hornets were on the road without star LaMelo Ball due to a season-ending ankle injury.
But the Nets dominated most of the way.
The Hornets failed to consistently hit jumpers all night — shooting 37.5% percent for the game — and the home team turned defensive stops into quick offense. The Nets scored at will and it started with Mikal Bridges. Bridges dropped 33 points on Sunday night, with a career-high 19 points scored in the first quarter. The forward capped off a perfect first half, going 8-for-8 from the field. He also connected on his two free throw attempts and one three-pointer in the first half.
“Brooklyn Bridges, Brooklyn Bridges,” the Barclays Center crowd shouted while Bridges was at the charity stripe right before halftime.
He went 12-for-21 from the field and added eight rebounds, recording his fourth 30-point performance with the Nets. Brooklyn will now head into a five-game road trip after two straight victories.
The Hornets made a late attempt to close the gap in the fourth quarter. The lead dwindled to 14, but the Nets were able to hold on to the victory.
The Nets hope to bring some of Sunday’s first-half scoring magic with them on the road as three of the five upcoming opponents — Thunder, Nuggets and T-Wolves — currently rank in the top top-10 in points per game.
The team was only able to muster 32 points in the second half — after scoring 70 in the first — as the Hornets cut into the lead. Aside from Spencer Dinwiddie’s 24 points, no other Brooklyn player eclipsed the 20-point mark. Dinwiddie also had eight rebounds and eight assists on the night.
Cam Johnson missed 10 of his 13 shots and finished with just 11 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Harris connected on 4-of-6 three pointers and was the only other Net to score double digits.
The team is still searching for offense following the departures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. On the same day the two former Nets went against each other in Dallas, Bridges proved he can fill some of the void that was left at the trade deadline. But questions still remain where the rest of the offense will come from.
