Nets vs Hawks Recap: Bouncing Back

For the second game of a home-and-home with the Atlanta Hawks, the Nets pulled out a good win beating them 94-89. In what was a pretty ugly game for both teams, the Nets came out on top after losing the first game in Atlanta. The Nets now improve to 24-16 on the season and 10-2 under interim Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo.

The game started to look like part two of the game in Atlanta as the Hawks started off shooting seven for eight from the field. The Nets would step up on both ends of the floor and play good, hard-nosed basketball.  The defense stepped up and forced some bad shots, but they still showed their struggles defending the quick back court of Jeff Teague and Devin Harris. They combined for 38 points on 14-32 shooting. Offensive production was present early for the Nets. The bench players stepped up as did the starters.

In the fourth quarter, the Nets defense looked better than it has all year. After breaking even with Atlanta in the first three quarters, they outscored the Hawks 20-15 in the fourth quarter. Atlanta put the Nets in the bonus early, which would really hurt them the rest of the way. Brook Lopez came up with the clutch defense in the closing seconds with a block on Jeff Teague at the hoop, securing what would end up being a Nets win.

The big three of Deron, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez stepped up and played a huge role in the win. They would finish with a combined 62 points. Deron Williams got off to a hot start scoring 18 of his 24 points in the first half. He shot 7-19 from the field and also kept his free throw streak going by making all seven of his free throws. He has now made 47 consecutive shots from the free throw line. Lopez put up 20 points and grabbed six rebounds while Johnson scored 18 points on 7-17 shooting.  Reggie Evans continues to out-rebound everyone, grabbing 20 tonight. Andray Blatche also had a nice game scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Final Score: 94-89 Nets
Most Disappointing Stat of The Game:  Nets 25-38 from the free throw line
Promising Stat of The Game: 48-35 rebounding advantage for the Nets
Scary Moment of The Game: Lou Williams going down with a knee injury
Best Moment of the Game: Gerald Wallace big block on Ivan Johnson

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