Graham fires for 40 as Hornets overtake Nets

Devonte' Graham scored 27 of his career-high 40 points after halftime as the Charlotte Hornets overcame a 20-point deficit and recorded a 113-106 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in New York. Graham scored five of Charlotte's final seven points, hitting a long jumper over Garrett Temple with 51.5 seconds left to snap a 106-106 tie and then connecting on a top-of-the-key 3-pointer over Joe Harris with 22.7 seconds left to put Charlotte up 111-106.

Graham shot 12 of 21 from the field and hit 7 of 12 3-point attempts. He became the first Hornet other than Kemba Walker to get a 40-point game since Al Jefferson on Jan. 31, 2014, against the Los Angeles Lakers. Graham's big night helped the Hornets rally from a 20-point hole early in the second and a 17-point deficit with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter. He scored 23 points in the final 17:58 as Charlotte outscored the Nets 53-31 the margin the rest of the way.

Miles Bridges added 14 points for Charlotte, which shot 40.9 percent overall and made 15 of 35 3-point tries. Terry Rozier and rookie P.J. Washington added 13 points apiece for Charlotte. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points for the Nets, who fell to 9-4 without Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement). Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which shot 43.2 percent and missed 28 of 38 3-point attempts.

Two free throws by Allen gave the Nets a 77-60 lead with 5:58 left in the third, but Charlotte outscored the Nets with 24-9 the rest of the quarter to cut the deficit to 86-84 entering the fourth. Graham's fifth 3-pointer, with 6:53 remaining, put Charlotte up 93-91, its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Dinwiddie answered with a 3-pointer 19 seconds later for a 94-93 Brooklyn lead, and his three-point play forged a 99-99 deadlock with 4:46 remaining.

The Hornets held a 102-99 lead with 4:13 left after Graham's sixth 3-pointer and led 104-101 when Rozier hit a layup with 2:41 remaining. Two free throws by Graham with 2:06 left made it 106-101, but the Nets forged a 106-106 deadlock on Dinwiddie's layup with 1:10 to go before Graham clinched it for Charlotte. The Nets saw their three-game winning streak end while the Hornets earned a second consecutive victory.

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