The Brooklyn Nets faltered at home against a sub-.500 opponent for the second straight game and lost a chance to secure a tiebreaker advantage against the Charlotte Hornets in a 123-112 loss at Barclays Center Friday night.
The Nets (32-32) have now lost four of their last five at home and five of their last seven overall to fall back to the .500 mark and now hold a one-game lead over the Detroit Pistons (29-31) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
With the win, the Hornets (29-33) salvaged a 2-2 split in the season series with Brooklyn and climbed back into the top eight in the East, moving a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic and 1½ behind the Nets.