Despite standout performances by Trae Young and Alex Len, the Hawks (6-24) couldn’t pull out a win, falling to the Nets 122-112 Saturday at Barclays Center after Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter comeback.
This marked Young’s fourth 40-point game this season and the fifth of his career. He finished with 47 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Len added a season-high 23 points and season-high 14 rebounds.
The Hawks led by 13 going into the fourth quarter before suffering a total collapse. The Nets started off on a 14-0 run, taking the lead off a driving layup by Spencer Dinwiddie with 6:55 to play. Until a floater by Young at the 6:36 mark, the Hawks went scoreless in the fourth, but even after that, they just couldn’t find a rhythm.
A pullup jumper by Dinwiddie, who led the Nets with 39 points, put the Hawks down six points, and a steal and three-point play by Joe Harris gave the Nets a 116-110 lead with 1:44 to go. It was an out-of-sorts play for the Hawks, as before Harris’ steal, rookie Cam Reddish had bumped into Kevin Huerter while he was bringing the ball up, which contributed to the turnover.
In total, the Nets outscored the Hawks 37-14 in the fourth quarter.
At long last, the Hawks will get John Collins back for Monday's game in Cleveland, following his 25-game suspension. The Hawks have certainly felt his absence — in his five games this season, Collins was playing well on defense and was averaging 17 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Credit: Emilee Chinn
Credit: Emilee Chinn
The final score overshadows what might have been the Hawks’ best half of the season.
After an up-and-down first quarter, the Hawks exploded in the second quarter, outscoring the Nets 39-26 on their way to 73 first-half points — the most they’ve scored in any half this season — adding nine 3-pointers and just four turnovers.
In the third quarter, a floater by Young gave the Hawks an 18-point lead, their largest lead of the night, at the 7:16 mark. But the Nets stormed back late in the third, with five straight points by Garrett Temple narrowing the Hawks’ lead to 90-85 before a 3-pointer by Len, his third of the game, and three free throws by Young got them out of trouble, taking a 98-85 lead into the fourth quarter before the collapse.
