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Hawks 141, Nets 118: Brooklyn Drops Third Straight in Atlanta

ATLANTA — The Brooklyn Nets lost for the fourth time in five games since the All-Star break, dropping a 141-118 final to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena.

The Nets’ three losses had all been down-to-the-wire finishes — an overtime game and two losses by a total of six points earlier this week. But after the Nets went up by 13 points in the first quarter, the Hawks took control in the second quarter and did not trail after halftime.

Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn with 24 points, adding 13 assists for a double-double. Caris LeVert and Joe Harris had 18 points each, and Taurean Prince and Garrett Temple each scored 16.

The Nets went into halftime trailing 68-62 after being outscored by 13 in the second quarter.

Brooklyn jumped out to a 29-16 lead late in the first quarter after a 15-2 run capped by Temple’s second 3-pointer in less than a minute. But Atlanta answered with a 13-2 run of its own to get back within two. After another Temple 3-pointer and LeVert’s putback basket, the Nets took a 36-29 lead into the second quarter.

They pushed their lead back up to 10 points after two DeAndre Jordan dunks and a LeVert 3-pointer that made it 43-33, but Atlanta controlled the second quarter from there. They outscored Brooklyn 24-7 over the next six minutes, with a 13-0 run at the tail end of that which put the Hawks up 57-50.

Threes from Prince, Temple and Harris got the Nets back on the board, and they finished the first half shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range with five of their seven second-quarter field goals coming from 3-point range. But Atlanta’s John Collins had 22 in the first half on 9-of-10 shooting and the Hawks led by six.

With the Nets within four early in the third quarter, a 9-0 Hawks run pushed the Atlanta lead up to 83-70. The Hawks made 8-of-11 3-pointers in the third quarter and took a 108-98 lead into the fourth.

After Temple and LeVert scored to open the fourth quarter and bring the Nets within 108-102, Atlanta reeled off a 12-2 run to open up a 16-point lead, up 120-104 with 5:30 remaining.