Choose an adjective.
The Hawks’ shooting touch in Games 1 and 2 of their playoff series against the Nets was not particularly good.
In Game 3, it was (fill in the blank). Call it dismal, abysmal or wretched. Well, you get the point.
The Hawks lost 91-83 to the Nets on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center after shooting 36 percent. The Hawks lead the Eastern Conference best-of-seven first-round series 2-1, with Game 4 at 7 p.m. Monday.
Here are some of the ugly details:
- In shooting 32-of-90 from the field, the Hawks were 6-of-30 (20 percent) from 3-point range.
- Jeff Teague (4-of-13), Dennis Schroder (1-of-9), Kyle Korver (1-of-8) and Al Horford (3-of-12) struggled mightily.
- The Hawks allowed an 18-0 run in the third and fourth quarters after they battled back from a 15-point deficit to take a four-point lead. During the stretch they missed 13 field goals and committed two turnovers.
“We missed a lot of bunnies, a lot of open looks that we usually make,” Paul Millsap said. “Maybe it’s a lack of focus. I didn’t think they did anything special. But give them credit.”
The Nets jumped on the Hawks from the start. They opened up a 15-point advantage, 31-16, by ending the first quarter on a 9-0 run. The Hawks started the game shooting 2-of-10 and were only 6-of-21 with five turnovers by the end of the opening period. The Nets’ 10-2 advantage 2:39 into the game represented their biggest lead of the series to that point.
Still, the Hawks climbed back into the game. They trimmed their deficit to seven points, 47-40, at the half. Following a 22-11 run to start the third quarter, the Hawks held a four-point edge at 62-58. It was their first lead since starting the game with the first basket.
The lead was gone in 51 seconds.
The Nets went on their decisive 18-0 run with one Hawks missed shot after another.
“I think they came back aggressive,” said DeMarre Carroll, who led the Hawks with 22 points. “We threw a punch, and they threw another punch. They came back aggressive. They knocked down some shots. Our main focus is we have to come in and worry about defense. That’s our main focus because some nights you might not shoot it well. Tonight, we didn’t shoot well. The biggest thing for us is we have to come out more aggressive and with physicality.”
Carroll was 9-of-12 from the field. Take that away, and the Hawks were 23-of-78 from the field (29 percent). Millsap finished with a double-double of 18 points and 17 rebounds. Teague (12 points), Horford (seven) and Korver (two) rounded out the poor effort from the starting unit.
“They are contesting shots well, I would say,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of the Nets’ defense. “They are making a lot of looks difficult. Occasionally we got some good shots. We need those to go down. Their contest and their effort to get to our shooters just make our looks more difficult. At the end of the day, it’s simple defense. They are contesting and getting to us.”
The Nets were led by Brook Lopez, with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Thaddeus Young (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Joe Johnson (16 points, 10 rebounds) also had double-doubles. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points, including 11 in the first quarter.
The Hawks did make things difficult for Deron Williams, who scored only three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes. He appeared to be injured taking a charge from Teague.
Millsap said the Nets controlled the pace of play — something that must change. The Hawks want to play fast, get points in transition, force turnovers, run to negate the Nets’ size advantage.
“That is our main point of emphasis going into the next game — not getting caught up in their pace,” Millsap said. “We played pretty slow tonight. That’s now how we play. We play pretty fast, get up and down the court, get into pick-and-rolls. We got caught into their pace tonight. Simple as that. They were slowing us down. … We’ve got to be aggressive.”
The Hawks held the Nets to 39 percent shooting. It was a reason for encouragement postgame. Hawks players felt if they can play that type of defense and get their offensive rhythm back, they can regain full control of the series.
“We have to finish those easy baskets when we get a chance,” Horford said.
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