Batum, Hornets buzz into Brooklyn to meet Nets

NEW YORK -- The final week of the calendar year ends with a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Charlotte Hornets.

First, they must not look past three games against Eastern Conference teams with losing records.

Step one is Monday night when the Hornets visit the Brooklyn Nets, who are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record in the NBA.

Charlotte built a 17-13 record by going a combined 14-5 against opposition at or under .500.

That doesn't mean those have been automatic flawless games for the Hornets, who follow up their second trip to Brooklyn with a visit to the Orlando Magic (14-18) on Wednesday and a home game against the Miami Heat (10-21) on Thursday.

If Charlotte wins its next three games, it takes a 20-13 record into its second meeting with the defending champions Saturday. That game precedes a month when the Hornets face the Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors.

Eight of Charlotte's wins occurred after it faced a double-digit deficit and the Hornets nearly added another Friday in a 103-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Hornets trailed by eight early in the second quarter but Nicolas Batum scored seven of his 20 points in a span of 1:38 during a 16-0 run and Charlotte never trailed again.

"This was good for us," Batum said. "It was like a playoff game tonight. The crowd was really into it, and that was a good team we beat. So this is good for us in the long run."

Batum finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh career triple-double and his third while with the Hornets. He was 7 of 15 from the field during a game that became highly contentious at the end and occurred two nights after Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said he was looking for a "jolt" from start to finish.

"I just think we had the right attitude tonight," Clifford said. "It's like with anything, when you have the right attitude, the right approach, you have a better chance to play well, and that's what we're doing. Just a lot of effort plays tonight. Nic was terrific, and a lot of other guys made a lot of good plays."

Kemba Walker also scored 20 points for the Hornets, who won their last three games following a four-game losing streak.

One of Charlotte's comebacks from a double-digit deficit occurred Nov. 4 in Brooklyn. The Hornets faced a 13-point deficit about seven minutes into the game and again with nearly four minutes left in the second quarter but wound up with a 99-95 victory.

The first meeting was part of a somewhat respectable 4-5 start for the Nets and was the first game the Nets played without Jeremy Lin. Lin returned Dec. 12 in Houston but Brooklyn lost all six games he played since.

The Nets are 3-17 since Nov. 12. Eleven of those games are double-digit defeats and 16 times, a team has scored at least 110 points.

Brooklyn plays its final home game of the calendar year following a back-to-back at home against Golden State and at Cleveland. The Nets scored 65 points against Golden State by halftime and held a 16-point lead before a 117-101 loss Thursday, but Friday was completely different.

The Nets wound up with a 119-99 setback and the final deficit was only 20 because Cleveland pulled its starters late in the third quarter. Brooklyn never led, trailed by as many as 46 and by double digits for the final 40-plus minutes.

Brook Lopez scored 16 points while Lin added 10. They also combined for eight of Brooklyn's 19 turnovers, giving the Nets 61 in their last three games.

"They came out and jumped on us immediately," Lopez said. "We seemed a bit timid and tentative, and they're a team that definitely feeds off that."

Brooklyn still leads the league in possessions per game but does not capitalize as evidenced by an offensive rating of 103.2 that places them 25th. Part of the low rating is an average of 17.3 turnovers per game, putting them next-to-last.

"A lot of it has just been on us and how careless we've been with the ball," Lopez said after the Nets committed at least 15 turnovers for the 25th time

Charlotte takes a five-game winning streak over the Nets into Monday and is unbeaten in its last four trips to Brooklyn. It matches the longest winning streak in franchise history against the Nets as Charlotte also won five straight in the series April 15, 1998-Nov. 12, 1999 and March 2, 2000-April 12, 2001.