The Charlotte Hornets blew out the Brooklyn Nets 117-86 on the road Tuesday night, reaching 40 wins on the season after finishing with just 19 victories a year ago.
Head coach Charles Lee said Charlotte’s defensive focus set the tone.
“We all of a sudden took our level of focus — our commitment to communicating at a really high level and playing with physicality — up,” Lee said. “We held them to an 18-point third quarter, so I loved our defensive focus and intentionality tonight.”
The win keeps Charlotte firmly in the Eastern Conference play-in race. The Hornets are one of four teams separated by a game and a half with six games remaining in the regular season.
Charlotte returns home Thursday night to host the Phoenix Suns.
