Brandon Miller’s 25 points and LaMelo Ball’s 20 points helped carry the Charlotte Hornets to a 136-117 victory against the visiting Brooklyn Nets in the teams’ season opener Wednesday night.
Miles Bridges racked up 18 points and 11 rebounds and newcomer Collin Sexton scored 15 points in an encouraging start for the Hornets in a matchup between teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs last season.
Moussa Diabate (13 points), Tre Mann (12 points), Kon Knueppel (11 points), Ryan Kalkbrenner (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Tidjane Salaun (10 points) also made notable contributions for Charlotte, which set a franchise record with nine players with double-digit point totals.
Nic Claxton scored 17 points and Cam Thomas had 15, but the Nets couldn’t overcome 44.3% shooting from the field and 17 turnovers. Charlotte shot 59.1% from the field, including 53.3% from 3-point range.
Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe and Egor Demin each added 14 points off the bench, while Terance Mann supplied 13 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 12 points.
Ball made four 3-pointers and delivered a game-high eight assists.
Despite trailing by a sizable margin late in the second quarter, the Nets were within 106-94 with less than a minute to play in the third quarter.
Then at 119-106, the Hornets went on a 9-0 burst capped by Salaun’s 3-pointer. That came before a stretch of nearly 2 1/2 minutes when neither team scored, but by then the game was out of reach for the Nets.
Miller had 17 first-half points as one of four Charlotte players in double figures as the Hornets rolled up a 77-60 halftime lead. The Hornets shot 57.8%, made eight 3-point baskets and delivered 20 assists before the break, with one of the biggest highlights a Ball-to-Miller play for a transition dunk.
Charlotte endured offensive droughts at times last season, but it reached the 100-point mark with more than 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
