Big third quarter gives Hornets win over Nets

The Charlotte Hornets are, at worst, the No. 6 team in the Eastern Conference.

They locked that up with a 113-99 home victory Friday over the Brooklyn Nets. The Hornets (46-33) took control of this game in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 34-21. Point guard Kemba Walker scored 11 of his 22 points in that quarter.

By locking up at least sixth place, the Hornets have narrowed their potential first-round playoff opponents to three possibilities: The Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics or Miami Heat. The Hornets still hope to compete for home-court advantage in the first round.

They have three games left on the regular-season schedule: Back-to-back road game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday and Celtics on Monday, following by the home finale Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.

Three who mattered

Marvin Williams: His stats might not have been gaudy, but he made multiple hustle plays early in the second half to extend the lead to double digits.

Walker: The ease with which he gets to the rim against the Nets has been a running theme in this season series.

Troy Daniels: His three first-half 3-pointers were a nice boost off the bench.

Observations

▪  Williams is one of only four NBA players to reach 500 rebounds and 125 3-pointers made this season. The other three: Paul George, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love.

▪  Entering Friday’s game the Hornets had committed nearly twice as many shot-clock violations this season (51) as their collective opponent (26).

▪  Nic Batum returned from a knee strain, but Jeremy Lamb missed the game with a strained toe.

▪  The Hornet with the most foul-outs this season: Center Cody Zeller with four.

▪  With his 34-point game Wednesday in New York, Walker now has a career-best 13 games of 30 or more points this season.

Worth mentioning

▪  The Nets shut down center Brook Lopez and forward Thaddeus Young for the season recently.

▪  ESPN has dropped its telecast of the Hornets’ game against the Orlando Magic Wednesday to instead televise the game between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

▪  It’s likely Fox Sports Southeast will televise the Hornets-Magic game.

They said it

“There is no doubt we are becoming more relevant in the NBA.” – Hornets coach Steve Clifford.

“To all those young guys out there listening, always stay ready no matter when your number is called.” – Daniels on his 17 points off the bench.

“(We’ve) got to win three games. You never know, you may get home-court advantage, too.” – Batum on the remaining schedule.

Report card

B+ OFFENSE: They shot well from both the field and 3-point range.

B DEFENSE: They held the Nets to 9-of-28 shooting in building the third-quarter lead.

B+ COACHING: Locking up at least sixth in the East is an accomplishment following a major roster makeover.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 9:19 PM with the headline "Big third quarter gives Hornets win over Nets."