BACK-TO-BACK & ON THE ROAD:
After wrapping up a three-game homestand with a loss to Portland on Friday night, the Nets head out on a two-game road trip starting in Atlanta on Saturday. The Nets are 3-2 in their last five road games. Saturday’s game also completes the Nets eighth back-to-back set of the season.
LAST TIME
Thaddeus Young’s two free throws with 1.4 seconds left to play lifted the Nets to a 90-88 win over the Hawks on Nov. 17 for their first home win of the season. With the game tied at 88, the Nets came up with two big defensive stands in the final minute, the second of them leading to Young’s fast-break opportunity. Fouled hard on his drive to the rim, Young converted a pair from the line for the winning margin.
Young finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Brook Lopez had 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
DONALD SLOAN
Donald Sloan had a pretty nice birthday on Friday, scoring a season-high tying 15 points, a season-high nine rebounds and nine assists in a season-high 32 minutes. Sloan’s big night left him one rebound and one assist shy of a triple-double. Sloan recorded his first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 assists) on Jan. 9 against the Detroit Pistons. He’s started the Nets last three games.
SPREADING OUT THE SCORING:
Seven Nets: Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, Joe Johnson, Donald Sloan, Wayne Ellington, Thomas Robinson and Andrea Bargnani scored in double-digits on Friday night. Six Nets: Lopez, Young, Johnson, Ellington, Shane Larkin and Bojan Bogdanovic hit double-digits in Wednesday’s win over the Knicks.
FRONTCOURT PILEUP
The Nets have been led all season long by center Brook Lopez and power forward Thaddeus Young as the pair formed one of the NBA’s most productive frontcourts. But the Hawks have their own powerful pair up front.
Like Lopez and Young, Atlanta’s Paul MIlsap and Al Horford are their team’s top two scorers. Mislay (18.3 ppg) and Horford (15.5 ppg) are combining to average 33.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. Lopez and Young combine to average 35.3 points and 17.8 rebounds per game.
The Hawks have won 9 of their last 14 games and lead the Southeast Division with a 23-17 record.