NBA Notes: Hornets, Collin Sexton, Nuggets, Jamal Murray, Jazz

Hornets

The two-game “maybe we’re turning a corner” stretch didn’t last long in Charlotte. After beating the Bulls and Raptors over the weekend, the Hornets slipped right back into bad habits Monday night, falling by double digits to a Nets team that entered the night at 3-16.

Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer called it another low point in a 6-15 start.

Rookie scorer Kon Knueppel didn’t sugarcoat it. He called the effort “unacceptable” and “really disappointing.” Veteran guard Collin Sexton didn’t hold back either, saying the team keeps shooting itself in the foot with mistakes and lapses.

“We can’t expect teams to lay down for us. We are not that team,” Sexton said. “We’ve got to fight a full 48. We have to go take the wins. If you don’t take them, nobody’s going to give them to you.

“We’re 6-15. What are we going to do? We have to change the narrative. We can’t be like, ‘Oh, we won two in a row.’ We truly ain’t done s–t.”

Nuggets

Denver dodged the worst with Jamal Murray. The star guard sprained his right ankle Monday against Dallas but has already been listed as questionable for Wednesday in Indiana, per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. He might not miss a game.

The Nuggets are still shorthanded. Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon remain out, and reserve wing Julian Strawther is set to miss his ninth straight game with a back issue. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post notes, Strawther isn’t close to returning.

“He’s been doing minimal movement stuff,” coach David Adelman said. “Not basketball activity. No physicality.”

Jazz

Jazz center Walker Kessler has remained “very engaged” despite being out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Coach Will Hardy said that Kessler continues to join practices and film sessions as he works through rehab, as relayed by Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. He isn’t traveling yet, but that will eventually change as his recovery stabilizes.

“Rehab can be very isolating,” Hardy said. “I want Walker around the team.”