The Hawks have lost three straight – something they did only twice last season.
Playing without starters Jeff Teague and Kent Bazemore, the Hawks lost to the Nets 90-88 in the final seconds Tuesday night at the Barclays Center. The Hawks (8-5) have dropped four of their past five games.
The Nets (2-9), who were playing just their fourth home game of the season, snapped a six-game regular-season losing streak to the Hawks.
Three key players
Thaddeus Young: He hit the game-winning free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to finish with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Brook Lopez: He scored a game-high 24 points with 10 rebounds and continued to dominate the Hawks.
Paul Millsap: He finished with 17 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, and five rebounds.
Five observations
A heartbreaker
Young was fouled by Kyle Korver with 1.4 seconds left on a fast break after the Hawks could not convert on the offensive end in a tie game. Young sank both attempts and the Nets had their second win of the season after the Hawks failed to get off a shot at the buzzer.
Shane Larkin gets hot
The Hawks allowed the reserve guard 14 points, including four 3-pointers, in 14 minutes. The 3-pointers were a career-high. Two of the long-range shots came in the third quarter when the Nets outscored the Hawks 27-22 to open up a lead that required a fourth-quarter rally to erase.
Big lineup
The Hawks started with their big lineup with a frontcourt of Millsap, Al Horford and Tiago Splitter for the first time this season. It was used sparingly. The three played together for just 6:16 of the first half. Thabo Sefolosha entered for Splitter midway through the first quarter. The Hawks used a combination of Sefolosha and Justin Holiday at small forward the rest of the half. The group started the second half and played a combined 5:51 before Sefolosha replaced Splitter.
Another sloppy start
The Hawks have issues with slow starts and the first quarter was another example. They committed eight turnovers in the first period. That led to only five points as the Nets repeated the favor with six first-quarter turnovers of their own. The teams combined for 16 field goals and 14 turnovers in the first quarter.
And more turnovers
The Hawks committed a season-high 20 turnovers in the game. They matched their season-high of 17 (done twice) by the end of the third quarter. Every player had at least one turnover except Shelvin Mack. Millsap had five after three periods.
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