Joe Johnson may still have a chip on his shoulder.
The former Hawk All-Star scored nine points in the final six minutes to lead the Nets to a 91-86 victory over his old team Monday night at the Barclays Center. He finished with a game-high 23 points to send the team that traded him two summers ago to another frustrating loss.
The Hawks (18-17) matched a season low with their third straight loss. falling to 2-4 since the season-ending injury to Al Horford.
Johnson hit a 3-pointer after the Hawks grabbed a 78-77 lead with 6:35 remaining. Kyle Korver had the ball stolen by Shaun Livingston that lead to a layup. Another Hawks turnover, the result of a miscommunication between Jeff Teague and Korver, led to another Johnson basket. A one-point Hawks’ lead quickly turned into a six-point deficit they could not overcome.
“It’s frustrating,” Korver said. “There are always going to be mistakes in the game. You try not to have them at the important times. We had a couple possessions in a row. I had a turnover and Jeff and I had a miscommunication. That was a big moment there.”
Paul Millsap and Teague led the Hawks with 16 points each. Elton Brand and DeMarre Carroll had 10 points each. Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 104 games with a 3-pointer with a first-quarter basket.
Johnson’s 3-pointer started a 9-2 Nets run and gave the Nets an 86-80 advantage. The Hawks were able to within two points, 86-84, on a Teague 3-pointer. However, Mirza Teletovic sunk the Hawks with a 3-pointer, one of four in the game, with 44.6 seconds remaining.
“I guess frustrating is a word you can use,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “That’s part of this process we are talking about. Every game, there are mistake, there are execution mistakes and defensive breakdowns. You want to be the team that makes the least of those mistakes.”
The Nets (13-21) matched a season-best with their third straight win despite playing without Deron Williams. Teletovic finished with 16 points.
The Hawks had a miserable third quarter when they let a six-point advantage disappear quickly. The Nets scored the first 14 points of the quarter. The Hawks’ first points came with 6:45 left on three Korver free throws after the team missed its first four shots and had five turnovers. The Hawks’ first field goal in the 15-point quarter came with 5:51 remaining on a Teague basket and foul. He missed the free throw.
“The game really changed coming out of the third quarter,” Budenholzer said. “They went on a big run. We went from being up six to being down (eight). I think in a lot of ways that is where the game was won.”
The Hawks took a 52-46 lead into halftime after trailing by as many as eight points in the second quarter. They ended with half with an 11-0 run with Millsap scoring seven of the points. The first eight of the points came from the free-throw line. The Hawks outscored the Nets 31-19 in the second quarter for the lead.
“It’s plain and simple,” Millsap said. “They were more aggressive then we were. They came out with more of a chip on their shoulder and we just didn’t react to it. …
“We’ve got to toughen up. They got offensive rebounds on us. We missed a few assignments. A lot of it is just discipline.”
The teams will meet again in London on Jan. 16. The Hawks next host the Pacers on Wednesday.
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