Hornets Beaten By Brooklyn Nets 101-97

New Orleans waited too long to get the engine running on Tuesday night at the Hive. As a result, the Hornets (20-38) second half surge wasn't enough to overcome a 22 point first half deficit to the Brooklyn Nets (34-24), who held on to defeat New Orleans 101-97.

"You can’t just sleep through the first two quarters and then try to pick it up. It was one of those games where we came out and I think we played to their level," said Hornets forward Jason Smith. (The Nets wanted) to slow the pace and keep it a half court game. They were just a little bit more aggressive than us tonight.’’

The first quarter ended with Brooklyn leading by 11, and by the time halftime hit, the Nets lead was up to 16. It proved to be a hole the Hornets couldn't climb out of.

"That is unacceptable," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "We have to bring the energy and effort because we don't have high-level talent at every position. We just didn't have it in the first quarter."

Greivis Vasquez led New Orleans in scoring with 20, including 8 points in the 4th quarter when the Hornets trimmed the deficit to 4. Robin Lopez, playing against his twin brother Brook Lopez, scored 14, pulled down 7 boards, blocked 2 shots, and added 1 assist and 1 steal.

Ryan Anderson added 13 off the bench for New Orleans, while rookie Anthony Davis only finished with 6 in 21 minutes of action.

Brook, an All-Star, added 20 points and 4 blocks for Brooklyn, who were led by former All-Star point guard Deron Williams. Williams scored a game-high 33, including the last 11 points for the Nets.

The Hornets now hit the road for the back end of a home/road back to back as they travel to Oklahoma City to battle the Thunder. Tip-off is set for 7:00.