Brooklyn Nets forward Jeff Green still has major hops even at 34. The 6-foot-8 scorer showed everyone, including Kyrie Irving, that he still has some spring in those old legs, punching a one-handed hammer against the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Center on Thursday.

After receiving a beautiful dime from Irving, a cutting Green took it strong to the hole and completely disregarded Gordon Hayward's defense. A highlight pass such as that one, of course, should be topped by an even better finish.

Green made sure to do justice to Uncle Drew's unselfishness and finished it with a tomahawk slamma jamma.

Nets superstars James Harden and Kevin Durant are both sidelined against the Hornets, and even Blake Griffin was in street clothes. Green knew he'll have to take a bigger role on offense in their stead and that's exactly what he did at the beginning of the contest.

The veteran forward came out firing in the first 12 minutes of the game, as he outscored the entire Charlotte team. Green had 12 points on his own in the opening salvo, while the visitors finished with an 11-point quarter.

While Green is mainly a role player for the Nets this season, he is truly a vital piece in their title bid. Entering Thursday's match-up, Green has been enjoying a career resurgence, norming 9.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 41.4 from downtown.

The Nets might not learn a whole lot from one game against the Hornets in the middle of a long segment of regular-season games. There is still more than a month left before the playoffs begin; that is the time when Brooklyn needs to be locked in. Some various rough edges against Charlotte won't ā€” and shouldn't ā€” elicit overly strong criticisms of this team. How Steve Nash's club performs when the lights are brightest is all anyone will remember from this NBA season.