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Hornets-Nets Preview

Feb 20, 2016 - 8:19 PM Charlotte Hornets star Kemba Walker hails from the Bronx, but he hasn't been too comfortable in Brooklyn.

Walker seeks his first win on the road against the Brooklyn Nets franchise Sunday night as the Hornets search for a season-high fifth straight victory.

Charlotte (28-26) can win five in a row for the first time since March 1-8, with this four-game run keyed by Walker's 25.8 points per game.

The five-game win streak in March included a 115-91 rout at Brooklyn (15-40) in a game Walker missed after knee surgery. That contest ended Charlotte's six-game road slide in this series - all since Walker joined the league in 2011-12 - and included an 0-4 mark in Brooklyn.

The rims at Barclays Center haven't been kind to Walker, who is shooting 29.5 percent and averaging 8.8 points there. His road average of 10.2 points in six games against the Nets is his lowest versus an Eastern Conference foe.

Walker scored a game-high 25 and Cody Zeller added a season-high 23 in Friday's 98-95 victory at Milwaukee. Marvin Williams finished with 15 points, Jeremy Lamb scored 14, Jeremy Lin had a season-high four steals and Al Jefferson scored six and grabbed five boards in his first game since Dec. 28 after arthroscopic knee surgery.

''Everybody made plays. Al made big plays. Jeremy Lin made big plays,'' Walker said. ''Everybody contributed to the win."

The Hornets will debut former Nets guard Courtney Lee, acquired from Memphis on Tuesday in a three-team deal that included Miami. Lee, expected to join the starting lineup, averaged 10.0 points this season for the Grizzlies and shot 37.0 percent on 3-pointers.

''He's smart and dependable and doesn't make a lot of mistakes,'' coach Steve Clifford said. ''He's a good spot-up 3-point shooter and he actually is a really good mid-range shooter, which is his biggest strength offensively.''

Lee's last game was ironically at Brooklyn as he scored 10 in a 109-90 rout by Memphis on Feb. 10.

Charlotte's game Friday was its first since announcing that oft-injured former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. The Hornets trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before prevailing to open a five-game trip.

''It was a gritty win for us, especially coming off the All-Star break,'' Zeller said. ''We needed this one to get going. Five away games here to start the break. We picked it up and found every energy we could in that fourth quarter.''

Brooklyn won for the third time in five games with Friday's 109-98 home victory over New York. Brook Lopez matched a season high with 33 points.

The Nets played their first game since hiring general manager Sean Marks and the day after their first practice in Brooklyn after previously training in New Jersey.

''We're 100 percent the Brooklyn Nets now,'' Lopez said. ''It's an exciting feeling to have everything situated out here. We're completely in New York and we obviously had a first, very positive step forward tonight.''

Charlotte won 116-111 at home over Brooklyn on Nov. 18 behind Nicolas Batum's 24 points and eight assists.

The Hornets signed Jorge Gutierrez to a 10-day contract Saturday. The guard played a total of 25 games for the Nets over the previous two seasons.