Nets-Hawks Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 30 2011 12:27AM

With plenty of star power in the Eastern Conference, it may be easy to overlook the Atlanta Hawks.

The New Jersey Nets already know why others should start taking notice.

Atlanta began its two-game run of dominance with a blowout victory in New Jersey in its season opener, and the Hawks will look to build off their recent efforts when they host the struggling Nets on Friday night.

The Hawks (2-0) aren't thought to be in a class with MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago, nor with Miami's big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Even New York with Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony garner more attention.

If taking the top-seeded Bulls to six games in last season's playoffs wasn't enough, Atlanta has shown it's still a team to be reckoned with after a pair of double-digit victories to begin this season.

The Hawks followed up their 106-70 win over New Jersey on Tuesday with a 101-83 rout of Washington the following night, and coach Larry Drew isn't hiding his team's goal.

"We're hoping we can become a team that's mentioned with some of the other teams," said Drew, whose team has yet to trail in a game yet.

Expectations are reaching so high that Drew feels Atlanta needs an improved defensive effort, despite opponents shooting only a combined 35.1 percent.

"There were parts of the game where we lacked defensive intensity," Drew said. "I thought we had opportunities to really put (the Wizards) away. ... I didn't feel we had a total grip of the game even when we got up by 20."

The Hawks seemed in control early and often Tuesday against the Nets, leading by 22 at halftime and beating New Jersey for the seventh time in the last nine meetings.

Atlanta has won the last five home matchups versus the Nets, who opened the season with a 90-84 win over Washington but lost their next two after falling 94-78 at Orlando on Thursday.

The Nets (1-2) have struggled to put points on the board without center Brook Lopez, who will be out at least another month with a broken foot. Surprisingly, rookie MarShon Brooks has led the team in scoring in two straight games, netting 17 points in each.

Deron Williams struggled again, shooting 2 for 12 and finishing with 10 points. He went 3 for 11 with 10 points and only one assist in the first meeting with the Hawks.

"It is definitely frustrating," Williams said. "I am not playing well right now and the team is not playing too well right now."

The first quarter has been especially damaging for the Nets, trailing by double-digits after 12 minutes in each contest.

Despite coming back from a 21-point deficit to beat Washington in their opener, they were outscored 26-13 in the opening quarter. New Jersey fell behind 28-11 to Atlanta and 28-16 to Orlando, leaving little chance for a rally.

The Nets' quick deficits aren't ideal, though Williams said there's plenty of time to get back on track.

"It is not time to panic," he said. "We are going to have a little bit of struggles just because everybody is learning."

New Jersey has lost 35 of its last 39 games on the road.

Teague, Johnson lead Hawks past Nets

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Dec 31 2011 12:45AM

ATLANTA (AP) Jeff Teague and the Atlanta Hawks knew the New Jersey Nets wanted to get even after being routed earlier in the week.

Sure enough, the Nets played hard and smart, but not well enough to win.

"Guys were making shots for them," Teague said. "In the first game, they weren't making shots and made our defense look great. We played well, but I think we want to do a little better on the defensive end. I think everybody thought that, but we got a win, so we can't complain."

Teague scored 22 points, Joe Johnson added 21 and the Hawks won their third straight game to open the season, beating New Jersey 105-98 on Friday night.

Deron Williams finished with 23 points and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21 to lead the Nets, who have dropped three straight and fell to 1-3.

The Hawks, who earned a 36-point victory at New Jersey earlier this week, were in a tight game for the first time this season. Their biggest lead was nine early in the fourth quarter before Brooks' 17-footer made it 95-94 with 2:18 remaining.

"They're not all going to look that good," Atlanta forward Marvin Williams said. "Tonight was definitely a good test for us before we went out on the road because I bet every road game we play is going to be just like that. It's going to come down to the wire and we're going to be in the game, so it was definitely a good test for us."

After Williams' reverse layup cut the lead to 98-96, New Jersey scored just one more field goal, but Brooks made a big mistake after Johnson's 8-footer put the Hawks up 100-96 with 20.6 seconds remaining.

The Nets had no timeouts remaining as he was trying to make an inbound pass from the left sideline with his teammates covered, but Brooks signaled for a timeout.

"He got put in a bad situation," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We had no timeouts left, and it's on us as a coaching staff to do a better job of reminding him about that because he's one of our best guys at taking the ball out. But it's more than that, because Deron got double-teamed, and we should have had more guys coming at the ball."

Brooks felt badly for the mistake.

"Coach pulled me to the side and said don't worry about the decision I made," Brooks said. "Just continue to play hard."

After Brooks' mistake, Johnson hit the ensuing technical free throw and closed the game with four more free throws on Atlanta's final two possessions to end the scoring.

Mehmet Okur added 15 points and Kris Humphries and Sundiata Gaines each scored 10 for the Nets, who were coming off consecutive blowout losses to Atlanta and Orlando.

"It feels better," Deron Williams said. "We took a step in the right direction. We were able to battle tonight. That's a team that beat us by 30 at home two nights ago, so this is a much better effort."

He had a solid second half, scoring 19 points, handing out five assists and pulling down two rebounds - the kind of performance he needed after averaging 10 points, six turnovers and four assists in the previous two games.

"I'm not getting much out of pick-and-rolls because teams are just sitting on me," Deron Williams said. "I think `I-sos' are going to be more effective until we figure out the pick-and-roll game. I was able to get something going and turn it around and hopefully get my confidence going."

Al Horford finished with 12 points for Atlanta. Marvin Williams added 11 points and six rebounds, and Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Teague put Atlanta ahead 98-94 with a three-point play after driving for a layup past Humphries and hitting the ensuing free throw with 1:58 remaining, but some of his better work came during a five-minute stretch of the third quarter in which he scored eight points and handed out three assists.

"I think when I'm playing aggressive, that's when I'm at my best," Teague said. "Sometimes I'll miss guys on a couple of passes or things like that and they talk to me, but I just think that's how I have to play. When I'm being casual, I think that's when I'm not at my best and that hurts the team."

Notes: The Nets used the same lineup for the second straight game with Gaines and Okur starting in place of Anthony Morrow and Johan Petro. ...Atlanta begins a three-game, four-night road trip Saturday at Houston. ... The Nets visit Cleveland on Sunday and return home to face Indiana on Monday.

Notebook: Hawks 105, Nets 98

By Jon Cooper, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday December 31, 2011 12:45AM

THE FACTS: The Atlanta Hawks knew that they couldn't win every game by double-figures and found out that they could win a close game, too.

Jeff Teague had 22 points and six assists, while Joe Johnson added 21, including the final seven points of the game, as the Hawks moved to 3-0, beating the New Jersey Nets 105-98 Friday night at Philips Arena.

In stark contrast to the teams' first meeting Tuesday night at the Prudential Center, the Nets, playing their fourth game in five nights, led by as many as five early in the first quarter.

But Atlanta closed the quarter on an 8-2 run, taking the lead with 2:18 left on Johnson's short turnaround, and never trailed again.

The Hawks led by as many as nine, but the Nets stuck around, pulling within one with 2:18 to play, then getting two opportunities to shoot for a tie or the lead in the final two minutes. But Anthony Morrow missed a 15-foot runner, then, after a stop, Deron Williams missed a reverse lay-up.

Johnson took the ball down court and hit a runner in the lane to extend the lead to 100-96, then Atlanta's pressure on the inbounds pass off a timeout led to the Nets calling an excessive timeout. The technical and a Johnson's two free throws on the ensuing possession opened up a seven-point lead and sealed the game.

Williams scored a game-high 23 for New Jersey, and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21. Kris Humphries had a double-double for the Nets, scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "It was a big stop. The guys did a great job on the back side. I was told by my last head coach when you're guarding the ball to jump towards that side of the ball. I tried to remember that when taking the ball out."
-- Marvin Williams, whose defensive pressure on Brooks' inbounds with 20.6 seconds left, led to New Jersey's taking an excessive time out.

THE STAT: Despite New Jersey's shooting 92.9 percent from the foul line, Atlanta outscored the visitors 27-13 as they held a resounding 38-14 edge in free throw attempts.

TURNING POINT: Deron Williams shooting 7-for-13 in the second half and 4-for-8 in the fourth quarter, but his missed reverse lay-up with 38.9 seconds left led to a Joe Johnson running jumper that pushed the lead up to four and led to the time out which was followed by the excessive timeout.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm really proud of our rookie MarShon Brooks tonight. You say you take the good with the bad, but I saw all good with MarShon tonight. We really showed in the second half what a good offensive team we could be."
-- Nets coach Avery Johnson.

HOT: The Nets had shot only 2-for-7 from three in the first half, but heated up from behind the arc big time in the second half, draining 7-for-13 attempts (53.8 percent). Morrow hit three of his four tries from downtown, including 2-for-3 in the third quarter, when the Nets shot 62.5 from three.

ALSO HOT: Joe Johnson was money from the free throw line with the game on the line. After hitting 2-for-3 from the stripe over the first three quarters, Joe went 7-for-7 in the final 12 minutes, five of them in the final 20.6 seconds.

NOT: New Jersey forward Damion James got off to a slow start, making only one of his five shots in the first quarter. He finished 1-for-6 for the game and didn't play the final 21:46.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Williams bounced back from a miserable game against Atlanta on Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 23 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, while shooting 9-for-18 shooting, with a three pointer, 4-for-4 free throw shooting, two defensive boards, a 3:1 assists to turnovers ratio, two steals and a blocked shot. Teague held his own, going for 22 points, on 9-for-12 shooting (75 percent shooting), with six assists, a 3:1 assists-to-turnovers ratio, an offensive rebound and two steals.

INSIDE THE ARENA: A famous Howard was in the arena, but it wasn't Dwight Howard. It was actually Philadelphia Phillies first baseman and Atlanta Braves nemesis Ryan Howard.

ROOKIE WATCH: Brooks was electrifying. The rookie had 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting, while making all four free throws and even pulling down five rebounds (second on the team behind Humphries). Brooks came on in the fourth quarter, going 3-for-4, hitting his lone three-pointer, making all four free throws and scoring nine points in all, one behind Williams in the frame. He even blocked a shot by Tracy McGrady, who is three inches taller.

NOTABLE: Humphries, who was booed every time he touched the ball, recorded his second double-double of the season and first since Opening Night. His 13 rebounds were the most since the opener...Nets center Mehmet Okur hit three of his five three-point attempts. Okur came into the game having made two threes in his first three games - going 2-for-6...Atlanta has gone to the free throw line 73 times in its first two home games, making 58 of their attempts, a 79.5 percentage...Of Atlanta's 105 points, 50 of them came in the paint, where they held a 50-40 edge.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Saturday @ Houston, Monday @ Miami, Tuesday @ Chicago. For the Nets, Sunday @ Cleveland, Monday vs. Indiana, Wednesday @ Boston.

• Nets: Lopez, Williams
• Hawks: Hinrich, Sloan

• Nets: --
• Hawks: Smith

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #72 JT Orr
• Attendance: 16300
• Duration: 2:14