The Brooklyn Nets stretched their winning streak to five games, cruising past the Atlanta Hawks 144-127 Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn jumped to 21-point first-quarter lead, fended off Atlanta's second-quarter surge, and controlled play throughout the second half, never letting the Hawks get closer than the six-point halftime margin after the break and eventually building a lead as large as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nets shot 55.7 percent from the field, their third straight game shooting at least 50 percent, and 40 percent from 3-point range. They eclipsed their previous season high of 127 points set earlier this week in Philadelphia and set a franchise record for most points scored at Barclays Center.
D'Angelo Russell got the Nets going with 10 first-quarter points, had 16 at halftime, and finished with a game-high 32 for his fourth 30-point game of the season, shooting 13-for-19, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, with seven assists and six rebounds.
Rondae-Hollis Jefferson scored 18 points with four rebounds and three assists. Joe Harris and Jared Dudley each had 16 points with three 3-pointers and DeMarre Carroll and Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 each. Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs each had 11 as the Nets had eight players in double figures.
Brooklyn has not lost a rebounding battle during this streak, matching the Sixers and outrebounding their other four opponents, beating the Hawks on the boards 39-33.
After building a 21-point lead in the first quarter, the Nets were up 72-66 at halftime, with the Hawks having trimmed the lead down to two points with 1:34 to go in the half. It was the second straight game the Nets scored at least 70 points in the first quarter, the first time they have done that since the 1983-84 season.
Brooklyn spent the first quarter punishing the Hawks with penetrations into the lane that set up easy shots, whether it was a quick drop-off to Allen or a kick back out to the 3-point line. The Nets had assists on 12 of their 16 first-quarter field goals and quickly jumped out to a 19-6 lead five minutes in.
A flurry of 3-pointers late in the quarter from Carroll, Harris and then Dinwiddie gave the Nets a 42-21 lead in the final minute of the quarter.
But an 11-0 run got the Hawks back within 10 early in the second quarter. The Nets, after shooting 7-for-14 from 3-point range in the first quarter, shot 0-for-8 in the second, and that gave Atlanta an opening. Finally, a 19-7 run brought the Hawks within 66-64 in the final minutes of the half.
Two Hollis-Jefferson free throws were followed by a Carroll drive. Dinwiddie's basket put the Nets back up six at the break.
Russell got the Nets going with five quick points in the third, and an Allen three-point play followed by Russell dishing to a baseline-cutting Kurucs had the Nets up 88-76.
With Brooklyn leading 99-89, a 9-3 run made it a 108-92 game with 49 seconds to go in the quarter, and the Nets took a 111-96 lead into the fourth. That gave Brooklyn its second-highest three-quarter total ever, and made it consecutive games with at least 100 points after three quarters for the first time in franchise history.
UP NEXT
The Nets host LeBron James and the Lakers and Tuesday before heading to Chicago on Wednesday as part of a home/road back-to-back. They'll return for two more home games before Christmas, against the Pacers on Friday and the Suns on Sunday.