The Hawks lead 2-0 but haven’t dazzled anyone

When the East’s No. 1 seed is playing a team based in New York and Game 2 is being carried nationally by NBA TV, it’s clear nobody expects much from the series. And nobody did. Maybe that’s changing, though.

The Hawks lead 2-0 in Round 1 after their second halting victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Sunday’s final score was closer than the game itself. On Wednesday the game was closer than the final (96-91), and that was close enough.

The worst team in these playoffs had a makeable shot to take the lead with 1:17 remaining and an open 14-footer to tie with 10 seconds left. Joe Johnson missed the first; Deron Williams missed the second.

For the second time in four days, the 60-win Hawks were outshot from the field and outrebounded by the 38-win Nets. The Hawks made only 43 percent of their shots in Game 1; on Wednesday, they made 38.9 percent. Were they playing a opponent of consequence, they’d be in trouble.

But they’re not. They’re playing a weak No. 8 seed and they’re up 2-0, and it would be just like the mismatched Nets to go home and lose twice and toss aside any good will they’ve accrued over their stay in Atlanta. But we’ll let the New York tabloids worry about that. Our concern is the Hawks, and there’s growing reason for concern.

Their inability to put the Nets away in Game 1 could be written off as a function of Paul Millsap’s balky shoulder and Al Horford’s bent pinky. Fears about those infirmities were mostly put to rest Wednesday: Millsap scored 19 points on 11 shots; Horford had 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. They played well and looked OK.

The Hawks as a team didn’t play that well and, for long stretches, didn’t look like the Hawks. The smooth-running offense that laid waste to the Eastern Conference has been flustered by an opponent that ranked 24th among NBA teams in defensive efficiency. Again they took double-digit leads in each half; again they allowed the Nets to draw near.

Said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer: “We went through a stretch where we couldn’t make some good looks … We’re going to have to execute better, screen better.”

With 6:32 remaining, the Hawks led 86-75. They would make only two more baskets, both of them layups. Game 1 saw the Nets draw within four points with 1:32 left, but the visitors never had the ball and a chance to take the lead. In Game 2 they did.

A 3-pointer by Jarrett Jack, the Georgia Tech product who scored 23 off-the-bench points and appeared the daring young man who powered the Jackets to the 2004 NCAA title game, brought the Nets within 90-89. After a Horford miss, the Nets had the chance to nose in front. But Johnson, once the Hawks’ highly salaried main man, missed a runner.

DeMarre Carroll scored his only points, depositing a layup off Millsap’s feed, to make it 92-89. Alan Anderson scored off a similar backdoor cut. Hawks by two, inside the final minute. Millsap drew what appeared to be a phantom foul against Johnson and made one of two free throws. Nets ball, down by two, 28.6 seconds remaining.

The first look was one familiar to Hawks fans — Iso-Joe, with Johnson backing down Carroll off the right side. Carroll made him yield the ball, which came to Williams in the left corner, where he was unencumbered.

There was a time when Deron Williams, drafted one spot behind Marvin Williams and one spot ahead of Chris Paul in 2005, would never have missed such a shot, but D-Will hasn’t aged well. His shot spun out, and the Nets’ chance — maybe the best chance they’ll have in the series — was gone.

Said Budenholzer: “We wanted to get them off the 3-point line. He got a good look, an open look.”

Said Nets coach Lionel Hollins: “Just didn’t go in.”

Budenholzer again: “We feel fortunate we made just enough plays, just enough stops … We need to play better going forward.”

Hollins again: “We have to play better. They have to play better — I know they know that, too.”