Nets at Hawks Recap: Another Big Win

With just having beat the Wizards in blowout fashion, the Nets traveled to Atlanta to play the Hawks for the third time this season. This was the second game of a back-to-back, and the Nets showed very little signs of fatigue as they beat the Hawks 93-80. This is the Nets third straight win.

After falling behind 11-1 to start the first quarter, the Nets suddenly decided to start playing and caught up with the Hawks. Led by Johan Petro, Atlanta got off to an extremely hot start. But Brooklyn responded nicely and ended the first quarter tied 23-23. That changed quickly in the second quarter as the Nets came out firing. Andray Blatche was the one to get the Nets going as he recorded three steals, two of which came in response to turnovers that he committed.

As halftime came along, the Nets had opened up the score and led 51-37. Deron Williams put up 12 first half points, carrying momentum from last nights game into this one. The bench also played a large role in the Nets' first half lead, as they put up a combined 21 points. The defense, specifically on Josh Smith and Al Horford, was impressive. But with Reggie Evans off the court, the Nets had trouble grabbing rebounds and allowed Atlanta to grab 10 first half offensive rebounds.

The third quarter was not your typical third quarter for the Nets. Brook Lopez began to heat up and led the Nets to what would become a 19 point lead at the end of the third quarter. He put up 14 points in the third quarter alone. Scoring was efficient, as it had been in the first half, and the team played solid on the defensive end of the court as well. They led 76-57 going into the fourth quarter.

The momentum clearly began to shift in the start of the fourth quarter as Atlanta went on a quick run to eventually cut the Nets lead down to 13 after it had reached 23 at one point. The Nets would respond nicely and gain the large lead back at the end of the game.

The two centers, Brook Lopez and Andray Blatche, led the way for the Nets. Brook scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and two blocked shots. Blatche put up 18 points as well and also recorded four steals. Deron Williams added 17 points while also dishing out six assists. Joe Johnson struggled again against his former team as he put up just eight points on 4/13 shooting. The bench contributed largely to this win, as they put up a combined 35 points.

NBA.com Box Score

Final Score: 93-80 Nets
Most Disappointing Stat of The Game: 8 points from Joe Johnson
Most Promising Stat of The Game: Only 9 turnovers by the Nets. 
Scariest Moment of The Game: Atlanta getting off to an 11-1 start in the first quarter.
Best Moment of The Game: Blatche's steal and layup and-one


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