The Charlotte Hornets opened their season Wednesday night with a 110-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Grayson Allen scored 21 points off the bench, and Charlotte won without forward Kon Knueppel and guard Coby White, both out injured.
Charlotte led for nearly 39 of the 48 minutes. Brooklyn erased a 10-point Hornets lead with a 12-0 run in the third quarter, three 3-pointers by forward Michael Porter Jr. among them, and went ahead 64-62. Later in the quarter, Allen made three 3-pointers in less than two and a half minutes, and the second put Charlotte ahead for good at 75-72.
Guard Dennis Schröder scored eight straight Charlotte points midway through the fourth quarter, stretching a 94-90 lead to 102-92. Allen's fifth 3-pointer, with 38.7 seconds left, made it 109-100. Schröder finished with 19 points and six assists.
Forward Naz Reid, who came to Charlotte in the offseason trade that sent LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves, had 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Allen arrived from the Phoenix Suns in the trade that sent forward Miles Bridges there. Center Moussa Diabaté added 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
The Hornets outrebounded Brooklyn 58-47 and outscored the Nets 20-8 on second-chance points, those scored after an offensive rebound. Forward Julius Randle led Brooklyn with 33 points, and Porter scored 26.
The league's injury report listed Knueppel, who set the franchise's single-season record for 3-pointers as a rookie last season, out with a left hamstring strain and White with a left calf strain. Grant Williams (right hamstring strain) and Kylan Boswell (right knee surgery) were also out.
The Hornets play their home opener against the Atlanta Hawks at 7 p.m. Friday at Spectrum Center.
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