|
 Forward DeMarre Carroll had a game-high 24 points and point guard
Jeff Teague and forward Al Horford made big shots down the stretch
to hold off Brooklyn's late push. Atlanta now leads the
best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 is Friday in Brooklyn.
The Hawks never trailed in Game 5 but again struggled to put away
the resilient Nets. Atlanta led by as many as 17 points in the first
half and took an 82-70 lead into the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn quickly cut into the deficit, scoring the first nine points
of the fourth quarter and trailed by only three with eight minutes
left. The run was capped by guard Bojan Bogdanovic's 3-pointer and
foul-line jumper by guard Jarrett Jack.
Jack had a big fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 18 points. His
layup with 4:40 to play cut the Hawks' lead to 90-89. Teague
answered with a 3-pointer and then created a turnover that led to a
layup from Carroll to push the lead back to six with 3:48 to play.
Brooklyn forward Joe Johnson, who spent seven seasons in Atlanta,
hit consecutive 3-pointers to again bring the Nets within two at
97-95 with 2:11 to play.
The Nets had the ball down two with two minutes to play, but Johnson
missed a contested reverse layup, and the Hawks closed with a 10-2
run.
"Joe was going kind of fast and it looked like the ball might have
slipped out of his hand, and he missed the layup," Brooklyn coach
Lionel Hollins said.
Teague scored six points in the final 1:07, playing through a right
ankle sprain he sustained early in the second half. He finished with
20 points and eight assists. Horford, who is playing with an injured
pinkie finger on his right shooting hand, hit a jumper during the
closing flourish to help the Hawks prevail.
"The playoffs are a new a season. Records go out the window,"
Horford said. "You never under-estimate any team. (Brooklyn) is
playing really good basketball and is very confident. We just have
to be able to handle that. They're pushing us, and we're pushing
them. I just feel like it's going to make us better going forward."
Forward Alan Anderson led the Nets with 23 points and Johnson
finished with 18 points.
After a draining overtime loss in Game 4, the Hawks got off to the
kind of start they needed Wednesday. Energetic and motivated, their
ball movement was crisp, defense intense and shooters confident in
an impressive first quarter. The Hawks had nine assists on 14
first-quarter field goals. Carroll's deep 3-pointer of an inbounds
play beat the buzzer and put the Hawks up 33-16 after one quarter.
"We definitely expected them to come like gang-busters, after taking
two losses up in New York," Jack said of the Hawks' quick start. "I
thought we responded, maybe a little too late. We kind of fought an
uphill battle all night, but I'm still proud of my guys."
[to top of second column] |
Brooklyn rallied back, though, scoring the first 11 points of the
second quarter. Deron Williams, who had a huge performance in Game
4, didn't score until three minutes were left in the first half. The
veteran point guard had 35 points and seven assists in Game 4 but
finished with five points and six assists in Wednesday's loss.
Anderson picked up the slack, completing a four-point play that
trimmed the Atlanta lead to 48-42 with one minute to play in the
second quarter. Anderson had 16 points in the first half but was
outdone by Carroll, who had 19 to help the Hawks take a 53-44 lead
into halftime.
"Give Brooklyn credit," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said.
"They're playing at a high level. We were just able to make enough
plays down the stretch to get the win."
Teague sprained his right ankle early in the third quarter and
limped straight to the locker room. He wasn't gone for long and
returned to help fuel the Hawks' push to close the third quarter.
Atlanta led 82-70 heading into the fourth quarter. He said after the
game that the ankle was not an issue.
NOTES: Hawks G Kyle Korver was named the 2014-15 NBA Sportsmanship
Award winner on Tuesday. The annual award reflects the ideals of
sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in
amateur and professional basketball. ... The Nets are trying to
become the fifth No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in the first
round. The 2011 Memphis Grizzlies were the last to pull it off,
ousting the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs 4-2. The 2007 Golden State
Warriors, 1999 New York Knicks and 1994 Denver Nuggets also won
first-round series as No. 8 seeds. ... Game 7 of Nets-Hawks series,
if necessary, would be at 1 p.m. Sunday, the NBA announced. ...
Wednesday's referees were Monty McCutchen, David Jones and James
Williams.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
