The Atlanta Hawks suffered a blowout defeat to the Brooklyn Nets, 124-97, on Thursday night at Barclays Center. Brooklyn knocked down 22 triples in 42 attempts, while the Hawks only shot 8-28 from downtown. It is safe to say Atlanta missed Trae Young’s offensive wizardry in this contest.
The Nets came out of the gates on fire draining four straight triples. Cam Johnson had nine early points to put Brooklyn up 12-4. In contrast, Atlanta’s offense was stagnant and did not generate easy looks. The Hawks began the game 2-8 from the field. The Nets held Atlanta to four minutes without a bucket before Dejounte Murray knocked down a mid-ranger over Nic Claxton. Brooklyn followed their three-point barrage with a 10-0 run with the Hawks having trouble scoring against the Nets’ switching defense. Brooklyn grabbed a 32-16 lead at the end of the quarter. It was a season-low quarter scoring total for Atlanta, and they shot 6-25 with five turnovers.
Head Coach Quin Snyder inserted Wesley Matthews into the rotation to begin the second frame. Matthews and Kobe Bufkin hit back-to-back threes on a 9-0 Hawks run to cut the deficit to 39-29. Jalen Johnson played center during this stretch, allowing for fast-paced scoring and improved spacing. Saddiq Bey dished an exquisite wrap-around pass to Clint Capela for an and-one to decrease the Net’s lead 46-40. However, Brooklyn countered with a Cam Johnson triple and Dennis Schröder layup to push their lead back to 11. After a slow start, Murray went nuclear toward the end of the quarter, scoring 14 points in the frame with two late triples. His offensive explosion cut the Nets’ lead to 56-50 at halftime. Murray finished with 20 in the first half, while Cam Johnson led Brooklyn with 18 points, including five threes. Bogdan Bogdanović, Bey and Jalen Johnson combined to shoot 3-20, but Atlanta found themselves in a position to compete with 24 minutes remaining.
Cam Johnson started the second half just like the first, scoring five quick points and bringing the Nets’ lead to 65-54. Schröder joined in on the three-point barrage to balloon the lead to 83-65 with 3:30 left in the third quarter. Brooklyn outscored Atlanta 27-15 to this point. The Hawks’ offense looked similar to that of the first quarter lacking ball movement and quick decision-making. If Murray was not hitting tough shots, it seemed Atlanta was stuck in the mud. However, after shooting 0-7 in the first half, Bogdanović went on a personal 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 89-73. The Nets still took a 94-75 lead into the final frame.
In an inexplicable sequence, Dennis Smith Jr. got a layup after Brooklyn collected four offensive rebounds in one trip down the floor. The possession almost lasted a full minute. The Hawks did not do themselves any favors, turning the ball over early in the quarter. Brooklyn capitalized on Atlanta’s mistakes to extend the lead to 107-80. Day’Ron Sharpe cemented the Nets’ victory on back-to-back triples, increasing their lead to 115-84 with over six minutes left. With the game out of reach, both coaches emptied their benches for the final stretch.
Murray totaled 28 points, five assists and six rebounds on 11-19 shooting. Jalen Johnson scored 14 but shot 5-12 from the field, while Bogdanović dropped 11 (4-13 FG) points. Bufkin and De’Andre Hunter finished with 12 points, respectively, off the bench. The Hawks only collected 18 assists on the night.
Cam Johnson led the way for Brooklyn with 29 points on 7-11 shooting from downtown. Mikal Bridges dropped 16 points, and Schröder torched his former team with 23 points, seven dimes and eight boards. Sharpe, Lonnie Walker and Smith scored 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Nets totaled 30 assists in an impressive shooting display.
Atlanta has a chance for revenge on Saturday night in a rematch against the Nets at Barclays. The Hawks need to contain and move the ball better if they want to come out of this mini-series with a split.
