The Charlotte Hornets began their season with a successful visit to the Brooklyn Nets.
Two weeks later, the Hornets are on a four-game losing streak and hope to bounce back from one of their worst showings so far when they face the Nets, who are seeking their first home win Wednesday.
Coming off their massive comeback to reach the playoffs last season, the Hornets earned a 110-103 win at Brooklyn on Oct. 21. Charlotte won three of its first four games but has been outscored by 62 points in its skid against the Detroit Pistons (twice), Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers.
Charlotte has yet to score more than 115 points so far and has been held below 95 three times in its skid, including Monday’s 124-91 loss to the visiting Pistons.
Charlotte was outscored 59-37 in the second half in its second-largest margin of defeat so far after also getting outscored 53-38 at Detroit on Oct. 28.
Brandon Miller has led the Hornets in scoring five times and scored 17 on Monday, but during his past three games he is shooting 35.5% (22-of-62) after totaling 70 points in the previous two games.
The Hornets are also incorporating Coby White back into the mix after the guard missed the first seven games recovering from an offseason calf injury. White played 16 minutes Monday and the Hornets are hoping to see a little more than the seven points he produced against Detroit.
White also returned on a night when the Hornets committed 27 turnovers. Charlotte leads the league with 158 turnovers and has committed 82 during the four-game losing streak.
“We’re a team,” White said. “Me coming into the lineup it ain’t gonna really change. We’re not going to magically go from 20-whatever turnovers to five turnovers. We play fast, we play upbeat. Up-tempo is the way we play.”
Sharpshooter Kon Knueppel (hamstring) is listed as probable and expected to make his season debut. He became the first rookie to lead the NBA in 3-pointers (273) last season.
The Nets forced 21 turnovers in the first meeting two weeks ago and shot 45%. Brooklyn has not shot higher than 46.4% and lost six of seven to start this season.
Brooklyn also has been held below 100 points in its past three games and shot a season-worst 38.2% in its 103-90 loss to the host New York Knicks on Monday.
The Nets followed their eight-point win at Indiana by getting outscored 28-11 in the fourth quarter against the Knicks, shooting 3-of-16.
“It hurts because you wanted to win the game, and we’re all competitive, but as we all know, if we keep playing as hard as we played in the last two games, there’s going to be a lot of good things, and a lot of growth,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said.
“Remember that it’s not just a new group, but also a young group, and right now we want to see these steps. I think if you put too much negative energy into the group and into the young kids, then that affects the growth. So, I’m proud of the group.”
Julius Randle totaled 21 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double with Brooklyn. Randle made 11 of 15 free throws but also shot 5-of-16 overall and is shooting 31.8% (14-of-44) in his past three games.
Nolan Traore has started the past four games and reached double figures again with 17 points against New York, while rookie Mikel Brown Jr. continued coming off the bench and is coming off a 13-point showing.
