Five observations from Atlanta Hawks game versus Nets

Five in a row.

The Hawks (5-1) continued their regular-season success over the Nets with a 101-87 victory Wednesday night at Philips Arena. The win was the fifth straight for the Hawks after a season-opening loss. It also marked the sixth straight regular-season win over the Nets (0-5), who the Hawks disposed of in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Some observations on the game:

Three key players

Al Horford: The center has been solid. He scored a team-high 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds.

Jeff Teague: The point guard powered the Hawks in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points. Eight came in the final period when the Nets tried to guard him with Shane Larkin. Teague also had three steals.

Brook Lopez: The Nets center had another strong game against the Hawks. He finished with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Five observations

Teague continues All-Star play

Teague has been the Hawks’ best player this season. He entered the game as the team’s leading scorer at 19.8 points per game. He has picked up from his first All-Star season. Teague also moved into ninth place on the franchise’s all-time assists list, surpassing Jason Terry.

Horford’s strong start

Horford had another strong game. He has scored 15 or more points in all six games this season. It’s the first time in his career he has opened a season with six such games.

Hanging around

The Hawks led by as many as eight points in the second quarter but let the Nets back in the game as they closed the period on a 15-7 run and took a 43-41 advantage into intermission. It was the Nets’ first lead since they were up 11-10 early in the first. The Hawks needed a strong fourth quarter to go up by 14 points and put the winless Nets away.

Schroder bounces back

Dennis Schroder, who got the start in place of Kyle Korver, struggled in the first half. The guard had two points, one assist and four turnovers. Schroder responded with a huge third quarter. He had 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including setting his career-high for 3-pointers in a game with three, in the period. He added three assists. Schroder was coming off two poor games and finished with 20 points.

Holiday time

Justin Holiday is getting increased minutes off the bench in the past two games. He appeared in just one of the Hawks’ first four games. On Tuesday against the Heat, he played 13 minutes and finished with seven points (including a big fourth-quarter 3-pointer). On Wednesday against the Nets, he played 14 minutes in the first half alone. His minutes have come at the expense of Lamar Patterson.

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