Nets Roll Charlotte 124-90, Pelicans Erase 24-Point Deficit in Tulsa as Preseason Tuesday Delivers

CHARLOTTE — The Brooklyn Nets spent the entire summer being told what they are not. On Tuesday night at the Spectrum Center, in their preseason opener, they offered an early counterargument: a 124-90 dismantling of the Charlotte Hornets that stopped being competitive sometime in the third quarter, when Brooklyn ripped off a 36-21 period and turned a working margin into a laugher.

It was, in the words of NetsWire's player grades, a complete team effort — and the chemistry showed up fast. Michael Porter Jr. picked up where he left off last season with 16 points and five rebounds. New addition Julius Randle added 13 points and three assists. And with Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 6 pick in June's draft, sidelined by an ankle injury, rookie Egor Demin slid into the starting point guard spot and flashed exactly what Brooklyn drafted him for: confident scoring and real passing vision, even as his defense — four fouls in 18 minutes — showed the rough edges you would expect this early. Head coach Jordi Fernandez looks like he already knows what he wants his rotation to be; the first-half minutes told that story.

The caveat is real, and Brooklyn knows it. Charlotte was missing six players, including three starters — Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel and Coby White, with White nursing a calf strain, plus Grant Williams and two more. The Hornets turned the ball over 25 times, and the Nets converted those mistakes into 31 points. Still, there were Charlotte bright spots worth noting: second-year wing Liam McNeeley came off the bench for a team-high 14 points in 19 minutes, hitting 4-of-6 from deep, and recent trade acquisitions Naz Reid and Grayson Allen both debuted with 13 points apiece, Allen perfect on all three of his three-point attempts. Charlotte hosts Milwaukee on Sunday before two road preseason games close out the exhibition slate.

TULSA — The best theater of the night came at the BOK Center, where Oklahoma City opened its preseason with six of its biggest names in street clothes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso all sat on the first night of a back-to-back — every one of them is expected back Wednesday night when the Thunder host Milwaukee at 7 p.m. CT. The kids nearly stole one anyway. Behind a starting five of Ajay Mitchell, Jared McCain, Bennett Stirtz, Kenrich Williams and 7-foot-3 rookie Aday Mara, OKC shot 8-of-10 from three in the first quarter and carried a 15-point lead into halftime.

Then the bench emptied and the Pelicans pounced. New Orleans ripped the second half 64-43 — 38-26 in the third, 26-17 in the fourth — completing a 24-point comeback for a 116-110 win. Bennedict Mathurin led the Pelicans with 13 points and five assists in 16 minutes off the bench, and a New Orleans starting five featuring Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones and Yves Missi did the early heavy lifting before the reserves finished the job.

But the story in Tulsa belonged to the Thunder's rookies. Bennett Stirtz posted team highs of 15 points and six assists in 30 minutes before exiting late in the fourth quarter after a spill. Aday Mara went for 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in 18 minutes — including a finger-roll finish in transition where the 7-foot-3 rookie ran the floor and never put the ball on the deck, the kind of play that left even Gilgeous-Alexander watching from the bench shaking his head. Jared McCain, who opened the night shimmying to the arena music during introductions, added 12 points and five assists. For a franchise that spent the summer reshaping its roster — trading Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, and adding rookies Mara, Stirtz, Otega Oweh and Josh Dix — the pipeline looks very much alive.

SALT LAKE CITY — The nightcap belonged to Denver. Two nights after dropping their preseason opener 109-97 to Utah at CU Boulder — a game in which the starters sat the entire second half — the Nuggets flipped the script at the Delta Center, 117-106. Denver trailed after one quarter, then ripped a 41-28 second quarter and never looked back. It is only October, but for a team coming off a first-round playoff exit, any sign of life matters. The rematch also gave Utah's Darryn Peterson, the No. 2 pick out of Kansas, a second look after a rough debut Sunday — three points on 1-for-5 shooting in 22 minutes as a starter, with the hoops world already grading his film. The preseason is for exactly this kind of adjustment.

So what did Tuesday actually tell us? Three things. First, Brooklyn's rebuild has a pulse: Porter and Randle give Jordi Fernandez real veteran scaffolding, and Demin's readiness matters with Brown's ankle still healing. Second, Oklahoma City's load management is the new reality for a team with championship expectations — six stars sitting a preseason opener is a statement about priorities, and the rookies made it entertaining anyway. Third, New Orleans' second-half surge was a reminder that depth wins October games, and the Pelicans have it.

Wednesday brings more: the Thunder's big names return against Milwaukee, and the preseason rolls on toward opening night. None of Tuesday's scores will matter in the standings. But for the Nets, the Thunder's kids and a Nuggets team looking for a bounce-back, the tape will be worth watching. See more in our NBA Tuesday notebook and the full NBA section.