The Brooklyn Nets opened their season with a familiar mix of promise and problems, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 110-103 in a game that had plenty of early pop before slipping away in the areas that usually decide these things.
For a night that came wrapped in fresh uniforms, a new floor and a crisp fall backdrop outside, Brooklyn had the kind of opening scene fans could feel good about. The offense moved cleanly at first, the debut energy was real, and the new-look roster flashed enough to keep the building engaged. But Charlotte kept punching back, and once the Hornets found a grip on the paint, Brooklyn never fully got loose again.
The Nets started fast on offense, going 5-7 from the field right away. Julius Randle scored the first points of the season with a fadeaway jumper near the free throw line after spinning around former teammate Naz Reid.
Egor Dëmin followed with a mid-range jumper off a screen, and Michael Porter Jr. buried a three after catching a skip pass. Brooklyn had rhythm early, but that stretch didn’t last long once Day’Ron Sharpe sat after picking up his second foul with about seven minutes left in the opening quarter.
Mo Wagner came in for Sharpe, and Charlotte seized control soon after. The Hornets ran off a 22-12 burst to take the lead with around five minutes left in the first, using second chances and paint pressure to set the tone. By the end of the quarter, Charlotte had 14 points in the paint and five offensive rebounds.
Mikel Brown Jr. made his NBA debut during that same stretch, checking in with 3:57 left in the first. The rookie had to earn his first points the hard way, but he also looked lively from the start and showed no sign of the ankle issue he dealt with in training camp.
Brown kept that energy into the second quarter, nearly hammering one over Ryan Kalkbrenner on a drive that ended with the ball bouncing out. He looked loose, aggressive and ready to go, the sort of debut that suggests the moment wasn’t too big for him.
The second quarter brought plenty of back-and-forth action, even with a few stoppages after Noah Clowney got tangled up with Ryan Kalkbrenner. Charlotte stayed on top throughout the period and took a 54-48 lead into halftime. The Hornets doubled Brooklyn in paint scoring in the second quarter, 30-18, which underscored the issue that followed the Nets all night.
Brooklyn did have one edge it could lean on. The Nets shot 7-16 from three in the first half, while Charlotte went just 6-24.
Randle led the Nets with 15 first-half points and hit two threes, while everyone else except Brandon Miller, who had 17 points, was held in check for Charlotte. Porter Jr., meanwhile, had a quieter first half than expected, sitting at six points along with Dëmin and Brown Jr.
Then Porter Jr. flipped the switch in the third. He opened the quarter with 10 points in the first four minutes, and his last four came on an and-one three that pushed Brooklyn back in front for the first time since the 5:37 mark of the opening period. For a brief stretch, the Nets looked like they might tilt the game their way.
Charlotte answered right back. On the next possession, Brooklyn allowed five shots on one trip, and Reid eventually ended it with a three that put the Hornets back on top.
That basket seemed to loosen Charlotte’s perimeter game even more. After what was a rough first half from deep, the Hornets hit 6-13 from three in the third quarter.
Randle kept Brooklyn afloat with a few isolation buckets, but the Nets still entered the fourth trailing by five.
Brooklyn trimmed the gap to four with about eight minutes left after a few loose balls bounced its way and found Nets players ready to run. But the game never quite felt like a full comeback threat, largely because Brooklyn couldn’t string together enough stops. That was the story all night.
Dennis Schröder kept finding space at the rim, helped by seals from Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabaté that made the interior look too easy for Charlotte at times. The Hornets kept the margin at arm’s length, never letting Brooklyn get all the way over the hump.
A Randle and-one pulled the Nets within six with about a minute left and brought the loudest moment in the arena since introductions, not counting David Beckham’s “Who’s in the House” appearance. But the push ended there. A turnover and three straight misses wiped out the final opening.
Randle finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and in the process joined James Harden and Kyrie Irving as the only Nets with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in their team debut.
Brooklyn now heads to Cleveland for a matchup with Kenny Atkinson and the Cavaliers on Saturday night. The Nets have not beaten the Cavs since March of 2024.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
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