Brooklyn turns a close first half into a 34-point victory
The Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 124–90 at Spectrum Center on October 6, with Michael Porter Jr. leading the scoring and a productive bench helping turn a four-point halftime lead into a comfortable preseason win. The game finished on October 7 in Philippine time.
Porter scored 16 points in 16 minutes and 57 seconds, making six of nine shots and four of six attempts from three-point range. Julius Randle added 13 points, two rebounds and three assists in just over 18 minutes. Brooklyn finished with 20 made threes on 37 attempts, a 54.1 percent conversion rate that accounted for nearly half of its scoring.
Charlotte stayed close through the opening two quarters. Brooklyn led 33–31 after the first period and 56–52 at halftime, before winning the third quarter 36–21. That gave the Nets a 92–73 advantage entering the fourth. Another 32–17 quarter completed a second half in which Brooklyn outscored the Hornets 68–38.
The separation came from more than outside shooting. Brooklyn recorded 31 assists on 44 made field goals and shot 55 percent overall. The Nets scored 31 points off Charlotte turnovers, led 25–6 in fast-break points and held a 44–22 advantage in the paint. Charlotte committed 25 turnovers, repeatedly surrendering possessions in a game in which it also made 16 threes.
Brooklyn's starting lineup paired Egor Dëmin and Keon Ellis with Porter, Randle and Day’Ron Sharpe. Dëmin had six points and five assists, while Sharpe contributed eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks. The minutes were spread widely, with none of Brooklyn's 18 participants reaching 20 minutes.
The Nets' reserves supplied 76 points. Nolan Traore scored 10 in 10 minutes and 23 seconds, Drake Powell added nine, and Danny Wolf finished with nine points and five assists. Ben Saraf scored eight, while Noah Clowney contributed seven. That shared production allowed Brooklyn to extend the lead beyond the starters' short shifts.
Liam McNeeley led Charlotte with 14 points, including four three-pointers, but also committed six turnovers. Naz Reid and Grayson Allen each scored 13. Allen made all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. The Hornets shot 40 percent from the field and managed only 38 second-half points.
The official box score listed Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller and Coby White among Charlotte's inactive players because of injury or illness. Brooklyn's Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson were also inactive. Those absences and the broad rotations provide necessary context for a preseason result: Brooklyn's passing and shooting were effective on the night, while the final margin alone cannot establish how either team's regular-season lineup will perform.