The Atlanta Hawks snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets with a huge win at home. This was a first of a back-to-back homestand for the Hawks that started on Friday, Feb. 28, to close out the month. The Hawks handed it to the Nets, winning 141-118.
The last time the Hawks beat the Nets was on Dec. 2, 2017. After the first quarter, it looked like much of the same.
The Nets started the game with some hot shooting and took an early lead in the game. The Hawks young core wasn’t having it, though. About midway through the second quarter, the Hawks took the lead and never relinquished it.
All five of the Atlanta Hawks starters scored at least fifteen plus points and played thirty plus minutes. The Hawks outrebounded the Nets by fourteen, 52-38, and shot almost ten percentage points higher from the three-point line.
Hawks’ guard Trae Young notches another double-double with 22 points and 14 assists. John Collins gets a double-double as well with 33 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawks two rookies shined as well. Cam Reddish scores 26 points, and De’Andre Hunter gets a double-double. Hunter scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Hawks defensive numbers weren’t as impressive as their offensive numbers, but the defensive presence made a huge difference. Young played great on-ball defense, and the rest of the starters were flying all over the place on the defensive end. After the first quarter, the team managed to run Brooklyn off the three-point line and forced them to take bad shots.
The Hawks’ head coach Lloyd Pierce spoke on his team, hounding defensive effort.
“It was all about our defense, they shot extremely well in the third quarter, but I thought our defense was still what we were trying to do. We over helped a couple of times, but we were doing what we wanted to do, and we made mistakes within that. Which is alright, but if you are not doing that with effort and not on the same page, then that’s where you have your issues.”
Pierce went on to praise Trae Young’s on-ball defense and even stated Cam Reddish made a defensive play of the year.
Both teams were on the first day of a back-to-back. Brooklyn Nets will head to Miami to face the Miami Heat on Feb. 29. The Nets look to notch a win to hold on to their seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks will be back at home to face off against the Portland Trailblazers. The Hawks can play spoilers to the Trailblazers with a win. Portland keeps fighting for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race, where they are 2.5 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies.
