The Nets fielded an All-Star injury list that included two-thirds of their "Big 3" – Kevin Durant and James Harden – along with recent free-agent acquisition Blake Griffin, who simply was being rested. But it didn’t matter on a night when their latest free-agent signee LaMarcus Aldridge made his debut as the Nets’ starting center in support of Kyrie Irving and the NBA’s deepest supporting cast.
Aldridge made a profound impact at both ends of the floor, and the Nets hit 20 of 45 three-pointers (44.4%) and led by as many as 32 points on their way to a 111-89 victory Thursday night at Barclays Center. It was the 20th victory in the past 23 games for the Nets, who maintained their Eastern Conference lead over the 76ers.
Veteran Jeff Green topped six Nets in double figures with 21 points, including 5-for-12 three-point shooting, Irving added 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Tyler Johnson had 15 points on 5 of 7 accuracy from three-point range. Aldridge totaled 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and one blocked shot.
The Hornets (24-23) were led by Gordon Hayward and Devonte Graham with 13 points each, but they were held to 34.9% shooting (30 of 86).
Early Thursday afternoo, the Nets put out an injury list that didn’t contain the name of recent free-agent acquisition Aldridge, making it clear he was available to play. But coach Steve Nash played it coy in his pregame news conference when asked if the former seven-time All-Star might start.
"We’ll see," Nash said. "We definitely want to err on the side of not overtaxing him. Like we always say with a lot of these guys when they’re coming back from injury or coming off a layoff, we don’t want to overburden them early and risk injury.
"Second, is we’re trying to…figure out what we’re doing. We had one scrimmage, and we scripted the offense today. So it’s pretty last-minute here, and we’re excited to get him on the floor and get him feeling a part of this but also getting his basketball legs back."
Sure enough, Aldridge replaced DeAndre Jordan as starting center in a lineup with Irving and Bruce Brown at guard and Joe Harris and Green at forward. It became evident late in the first quarter when Aldridge was replaced by second-year center Nic Claxton that Jordan had moved to the back of the bench.
Aldridge missed his first two field-goal attempts and had just two free throws in the first period, but he hit the boards and was a formidable presence on defense. Landry Shamet returned from a sprained ankle and came off the bench hitting three-pointers along with backup guard Johnson as the Nets built a 32-11 first-quarter lead. That was the fewest points allowed by the Nets in any quarter this season, and they held the Hornets to ridiculous 17.4% shooting (4-of-23).
In the second quarter, Aldridge really got going when he re-entered the game. In succession, the 6-11 center buried a corner three, hit a midrange turnaround jumper, drew a double-team and assisted Johnson on a wide-open three, hit another midrange shot to give the Nets a 29-point lead at 47-18, missed a shot and then assisted on the next two Nets baskets. So he was responsible for 15 straight Nets points and then he blocked a shot at the other end.
The Nets’ halftime lead shrank to 68-48, but they opened the third quarter with a 16-4 run that included six points each by Green and Brown to build an 84-52 lead. When Claxton entered, he grabbed three offensive rebounds, two of which led to Nets’ three-pointers, and he rekindled the defensive energy as the Hornets managed only 17 third-quarter points to trail 92-65 heading to the final period.
