The old saying in sports goes, “A win is a win is a win. The Brooklyn Nets picked up another Wednesday, their eighth in their last 11 games, 122-116 over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Nets led by as many as 23 points before Charlotte cut the lead to two down the stretch. Three takeaways from a nail-biter in Brooklyn.

3 key reactions to Nets' home win over Hornets

Nets nearly blow another 20-plus point lead

Brooklyn has had no difficulties building early leads during its recent stretch of success. They jumped all over Charlotte out of the gate Wednesday, building a 10-point lead after the first quarter and quickly extending it into the twenties in the second. The Nets have posted the second-best first-quarter scoring differential in the league (+82) during November.

Holding on to the leads has been the issue.

Brooklyn led by as many as 36 points in last week's win over Toronto before allowing the Raptors to cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter.

After leading by 23 in the second Wednesday, a weak close to the half left Brooklyn up 18. From that point on, the Nets struggled to keep the Hornets out of the paint. Charlotte scored 61 points on 23 of 42 (54.8 percent) shooting in the second half as they threatened to take the lead down the stretch.

Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre (18 each) combined for 36 second-half points on 15 of 27 shooting after Brooklyn allowed both to get hot early. The Nets' struggles guarding at the point of attack continued as both consistently generated high-quality looks near the rim. When they missed, Charlotte outhustled the Nets on the boards, grabbing seven offensive rebounds to Brooklyn's one in the final two periods.

 

Wednesday's game had the feel of a night where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would get some much-needed rest heading into Friday's matchup with Atlanta. Instead, Durant finished with 36 minutes and Irving finished with 34 as both were forced back in the game to save Brooklyn down the stretch.

Durant and Irving bail Brooklyn out late

Kevin Durant checked in for Kyrie Irving after Charlotte cut Brooklyn's lead to four with seven minutes remaining. And Durant would keep Brooklyn afloat for the next two minutes, once again serving as the team's lone source of offense. The former MVP scored the Nets' next two buckets to keep the lead at four.

Enter Kyrie Irving at the five-minute mark. Irving would score six of Brooklyn's final eleven points as Durant provided the other five to put the Hornets away.

Irving scored 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting in the second half, finishing with 33 total. Durant added 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting in the final two periods, finishing with 29 for the night.

The former MVP has continued his brilliance throughout 26 games this season. Durant was selected Eastern Conference player of the week after averaging 33.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 48 of 78 (61.5 percent) shooting in his last four games.

Bench provides an early scoring punch

Brooklyn's lack of bench production was glaring in their 103-92 loss to the Celtics Sunday. The Nets got just 8 non-garbage time points from the bench, four apiece from Cam Thomas and T.J. Warren. However, the unit provided a lift out of the gate Wednesday, scoring 30 first-half points to allow the Nets to build an extended lead.

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Seth Curry led the way with 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting. The sharpshooter's performance is a welcoming sight following extended struggles. Curry had scored just nine total points on 3 of 14 shooting in his last four games after a 29-point performance in a win over Portland.

Edmond Sumner returned to the rotation after missing Brooklyn's last game with a thigh contusion. The guard made his presence felt immediately, creating late in the shot clock, working on the offensive glass, hitting threes and running the floor. Sumner's point-of-attack defense has become a valuable asset for a Nets backcourt that struggles guarding on the perimeter. The first-year Nets finished with nine points on 3 of 3 shooting after seeing limited time in the second half while managing his injury.

Markieff Morris received extended playing time Wednesday after logging a DNP against Boston. The veteran drained a pair of corner threes in the first half. Morris is shooting a career-high 46.4 percent from three (2.0 attempts per game) in limited action this season.

Brooklyn's bench will receive more reinforcements with Yuta Watanabe expected to return from a nine-game absence this weekend. Watanabe is leading the league in three-point percentage (57.1) while proving to be one of the team's top perimeter defenders.

The win brings the Nets to 14-12 on the season. Brooklyn now holds lone possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference as they close out a seven-game homestand against Atlanta Friday before departing for a four-game road trip.