Nets rally to beat Hornets 114-104 as Porter Jr. scores 26

Brooklyn beat Charlotte 114-104 on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at the Barclays Center, in front of 16,943 spectators. Michael Porter Jr. carried the Nets with 26 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes. The Hornets had the better of the early exchanges and led by seven points at the break, before the Nets went on an 11-0 run after the restart.

Egor Demin and Tyler Bilodeau were listed as out for Brooklyn on the pre-game injury report. Noah Clowney and Day'Ron Sharpe, both questionable, played. For Charlotte, Grant Williams was out; Kon Knueppel, also listed as out, played 6 minutes. The Nets are 2-6 and 13th in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets are 3-6, 10th in the East. The final margin, ten points, mostly reflects the last two quarters, which Brooklyn won 30-23 and then 34-24.

Charlotte builds ten-point lead before the break

The Hornets owned the start. A 9-0 run, begun with 4:56 left in the first quarter, turned a 10-13 deficit into a 19-13 lead for Charlotte. The visitors finished the period ahead, 24-21, then won the second quarter 33-29.

The end of the first half was Charlotte's high point. An 8-0 run, begun with 2:24 left before the break, moved the score from 49-47 to 57-47. At 1:03, the Hornets led by ten points, their biggest lead of the night. Brooklyn cut it to 57-50 before the interval.

An 11-0 run after the break, then a 34-point fourth quarter

The third quarter turned the game. Brooklyn put together an 11-0 run, from 50-59 to 61-59, starting with 9:39 left in the period. The Nets won the quarter 30-23 and the two teams went into the final period level at 80-80. The game had 12 lead changes and 11 ties.

The fourth quarter opened up the gap. Brooklyn won it 34-24, its best scoring total in any period. The Nets reached their biggest lead, twelve points, at 109-97 with 3:12 to play. Brooklyn went on to win 114-104.

Brooklyn's key contributors

Michael Porter Jr. was the Nets' first offensive option: 26 points, 8 of 17 from the field, including 4 of 9 from three, and 6 of 10 at the free-throw line. He added 10 rebounds and finished at +17, the best plus-minus on his team, tied with Danny Wolf. Julius Randle followed with 22 points, 7 of 13 from the field and 6 of 7 at the line in 31 minutes.

The bench made its mark. Mikel Brown Jr. scored 18 points in 20 minutes, hitting 3 of 5 from three, despite 4 turnovers. Wolf scored 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting, grabbed 5 rebounds and had 3 assists without a turnover. In the starting five, Nolan Traore made 7 of 11 shots for 16 points, with 3 steals. Sharpe handed out 8 assists and blocked 2 shots.

As a team, Brooklyn made the difference in open play: 40 of 79 from the field, 51%, against 31 of 77, 40%, for Charlotte. The Nets scored 50 points in the paint to 34, had 25 assists to 20 and turned the ball over 12 times to 17. They did, however, lose the rebounding battle, 38 to 41, including 5 offensive to 11, and the free-throw battle, 20 of 28 to 30 of 36.

Reid and Allen carry Charlotte, without enough support

Naz Reid finished as the night's top scorer with 28 points, 11 of 18 from the field and 9 rebounds in 36 minutes. Grayson Allen added 22 points off the bench, hitting 5 of 7 from three and 5 of 5 at the line. Tidjane Salaun scored 9 points in 10 minutes, including 3 of 4 from three. Sion James added 10 points and 3 steals, but went 0 of 4 from deep.

The rest of the starting five contributed less. Brandon Miller made 2 of 15 shots, including 1 of 10 from deep, for 10 points in 26 minutes. Coby White finished 2 of 9, 0 of 5 from three, for 4 points in 18 minutes. Moussa Diabate grabbed 6 rebounds to go with 7 points. Charlotte finished 12 of 40 from three and turned the ball over 17 times.

Three takeaways

Porter Jr. was Brooklyn's top scorer and top rebounder. His 26 points and 10 rebounds make him the only player in the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. No other Nets player went past 5 rebounds.

Brooklyn's bench made up for the free-throw line. Brown Jr., Wolf and Moritz Wagner combined for 36 points off the bench, on 13 of 21 shooting. Charlotte made ten more free throws than the Nets, 30 to 20, and it was not enough.

Charlotte leaned on two scorers. Reid and Allen scored 50 of the Hornets' 104 points. Miller, White and James combined for 1 three-pointer on 19 attempts, and all five starters finished with a negative plus-minus.

The SNA view

Brooklyn won despite a rebounding deficit, 38 to 41, and ten fewer free throws made. The difference came in open play, with 51% shooting against 40%, and in the paint, 50 points to 34. The 11-0 run in the third quarter wiped out in one stretch the lead Charlotte had built before the break, and the final quarter, won 34-24, settled the margin. Brown Jr.'s 4 turnovers in 20 minutes were the weak point of the Nets' night. For the Hornets, Reid's 28 points and Allen's 5 of 7 from deep were not enough: Miller's 2 of 15 and White's 2 of 9 dragged down collective shooting of 40%, with 17 turnovers on top.

What's next

Brooklyn, at 2-6 and 13th in the Eastern Conference, travel to Atlanta on Saturday 7 November. Charlotte, at 3-6 and 10th in the East, host Boston on Friday 6 November. The two teams are 1-1 in their meetings this season.