The Hawks lost their point guard and then they lost a basketball game on Sunday.
After Dennis Schroder went down in the final minutes with an apparent left ankle injury that required him to be helped off the floor, the Hawks lost to the Nets, 116-104, at Barclays Center to fall to 1-2 on the season.
Schroder,who entered averaging 26.5 points and 6.0 assists, went for 17 points on 5 of 22 shooting and eight assists.
With 3:37 remaining, Schroder drove to the basket but landed awkwardly on Caris LeVert's foot. He fell to the floor clutching his left ankle and had to be helped off the court. He had tallied six points in the final period.
For the Nets (2-1), it was their third straight win over the Hawks, marking their first time winning three or more straight games over Atlanta since winning a franchise-record-tying four straight over the Hawks between 2008-09. It was also the Nets' first time winning consecutive home games over the Hawks in nearly seven years.
Allen Crabbe led the Nets with 20 points. DeMarre Carroll, who spent two seasons with the Hawks from 2013-15, added 17 points. LeVert and D'Angelo Russell tallied 16 points and Trevor Booker had 14 apiece.
Marco Belinelli led the Hawks with 19 points and Kent Bazemore added 16.
Rookie John Collins had the first double-double of his career with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The Nets were playing their second game without injured guard Jeremy Lin, who tore his patellar tendon in the season-opener and is out for the season.
Brooklyn took a 91-77 lead into the final stanza, but the Hawks used an 11-1 run midway through the period to tie the game at 99-99.
Crabbe hit two 3-pointers to help push the Nets ahead 106-99. At that point, Schroder suffered the injury and the Nets closed out the win without him as a threat.
The Hawks started strong, taking a 23-16 lead and were up 25-19 after the first period. But Brooklyn had a big second quarter, outscoring Atlanta 37-28 to take a 56-53 halftime lead. Carroll and Crabbe each had 10 at the break for the Nets.
For the Hawks, Bazemore had nine points at the break, including three straight free throws just before the half after Carroll committed a foul 45 feet from the basket. Prince also had nine at the half, Belinelli eight and Schroder seven.
The Hawks planned to fly to Miami Sunday night before playing the Heat on Monday. After that they finish up the road trip in Chicago on Thursday before their home-opener Friday night against Denver.
About the Author
