The Brooklyn Nets held off a fourth-quarter surge from the Atlanta Hawks to win their third straight game, 114-112.
Brooklyn was up by nine points early in the fourth quarter before the Hawks rallied to go up by four with 2:30 to go.
The Nets were down 109-105 when Jarrett Allen converted a three-point play and D'Angelo Russell followed a with a second-chance 3-pointer — Joe Harris recovered the long rebound of a Russell miss to set up another shot — for a 111-109 lead. Two DeMarre Carroll free throws put the Nets up 113-109 with 1:25 to go.
After Atlanta got within a point, Harris made 1-of-2 from the line with 16.3 seconds remaining. The Hawks took a shot for the win at the buzzer, but former Net Vince Carter's 3-pointer was off the mark.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 23 points and seven assists, and Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
All five Nets starters finished in double figures. Russell had 18 points and six assists, Rodions Kurucs had 16 points and six rebounds, Harris had 11 points and Allen Crabbe had 10. Carroll finished with 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Nets took 54 free throws — the first time since 2008 they attempted more than 50 in a game — but shot just 60.4 percent. Allen was 10-for-16 from the line.
An 8-2 run late in the second quarter helped push the Nets to a nine-point lead at halftime.
They overcame some shaky early shooting to take that lead. Brooklyn missed nine of its first 3-pointers as Atlanta took an early 11-5 lead. But then Harris and Russell connected, as the Nets went on to make four of their next nine from deep. A Dinwiddie 3-pointer on a transition pull-up put Brooklyn up 26-23 at the end of the first quarter.
With the Nets leading 46-43 late in the second quarter, Allen made five of eight free throws over the next 2:23 and a Kurucs 3-pointer mixed in put the Nets up 54-45. Caris LeVert's inside score gave the Nets a 56-47 halftime lead.
The Nets opened up the second half by making five of their first seven shots, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range and led 79-68 four minutes in to the quarter. But with Brooklyn up 70-60, the Hawks tied the game with a 10-0 run.
With the Hawks up 75-74, the Nets closed the quarter on a 9-2 run with Dinwiddie knocking down a 3-pointer then making two free throws for an 83-77 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Dinwiddie kept rolling to start the fourth, with a 3-pointer and a drive that put the Nets up 88-79. The Hawks outscored them 18-9 during a stetch that was capped by Young's 30-foot 3-pointer to tie the game at 97 midway through the fourth.
UP NEXT
When the Nets host the Detroit Pistons on Monday, it will be their last home game for nearly three weeks. They'll be in Oklahoma City on Wednesday to tip off a seven-game road trip that runs through March 28.