A recap of the Hawks’ 90-88 loss to the Nets Tuesday:
Noteworthy
* The Hawks’ post-game locker room was clearly the most frustrated it has been during their recent slide of four losses in five games. Paul Millsap sat and stared straight ahead for several minutes. “I don’t know,” he said when asked what went wrong.
* The Hawks’ 20 turnovers, 17 through three quarters, were a season-high. They had committed 17 twice before.
* The Hawks lost three straight games only twice last season, including the final three games of the regular-season when they were resting players.
* Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young had 21 of the Nets’ 44 rebounds.
* The Hawks and Nets each finished with 44 rebounds. The Nets held only an 9-8 offensive rebound advantage.
* Tiago Splitter started the game at center but played just 12:07.
* Thabo Sefolosha played a season-high 30 minutes. He had eight points, including a corner 3-pointer that game the Hawks a two-point lead with 40 seconds left. He also had seven rebounds. Sefolosha said he was unsure if he will be able to play Wednesday in the second of back-to-back games.
Key stat
6 of 10
The Nets’ shooting percentage from 3-point range in the first quarter. They ended the game 9 of 20.
Quote of the game
“It’s what I drew up. It didn’t work. The execution was another example of where we need to be better. They guarded it well. They switched everything. So we didn’t get a good look.” – Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer on final play
Report card
Offense: D
The Hawks had 20 turnovers. That’s really all that needs to be said. They couldn’t take care of the ball. In addition, they failed to execute in a tie game, 88-88, with 10 seconds left as Dennis Schroder missed a jumper and Millsap couldn’t put back a rebound. The Nets started a fast break that ended with Young sinking game-winning free throws.
Defense: C-minus
The Hawks did hold the Nets to 90 points. Again, there were too many lapses on the defensive end. Shane Larkin scored 14 points as the Hawks couldn’t guard the 3-point lead early. The Hawks took a 10-point lead in the second quarter and still trailed by halftime. They went on a 10-1 run early in the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead, 80-77, and couldn’t hold that either.
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