There was no way the Nets were going to win this game tonight as they got beaten down by the Atlanta Hawks from start to finish, losing 113-102 in a game that was between five and 11 points for seemingly all four quarters. The loss drops Brooklyn to nine games under .500 but with a Hornets loss to the Spurs, the Nets remain a half game out of the No. 8 spot. The Hawks have won 17 in a row.
Honestly, there just isn’t much to say about this game. The Nets sorely miss Deron Williams (so Darius Morris, who missed all six of the shots he attempted in this game) and Mirza Teletovic and didn’t have enough offense to push them over the edge to grab a lead. Atlanta is firing on all cylinders and kept Brooklyn at arm’s length for 48 minutes, which was enough.
Multiple moments in the game provided chances for the Nets to cut their deficit to under five, but their chronic inability to make open shots negated those chances quickly. Also, when Brooklyn was able to score, the Hawks (shot 46 percent from the field and were 25-26 at the free throw line) responded immediately. Literally, this game entirely consisted of both teams exchanging baskets with the Hawks making some more free throws and threes.
Assorted thoughts: Not too much else to say about this one. A bad Nets team, without some key players, lost on the road to a much better team….A bunch of Nets had solid individual games tonight, which was nice, but when the team overall can’t make big shots, those performances don’t matter. Joe Johnson put up a team-high 26 points on 19 shots, Jarrett Jack had another point-assist double-double while Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee and Alan Anderson all contributed double digits in points….Kevin Garnett missed a bunch of wide open jumpers that could have made a difference….Anderson started instead of Bojan Bogdanovic, who hit a few threes but didn’t do much on defense. Have to think AA will stay in starting lineup for now.
Onto the next one: The Nets are back at home Friday to take on the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors
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