Atlanta, GA – Deron Williams followed up his amazing effort from Friday night with a 17-point night Saturday, as the Brooklyn Nets snapped an eight-game road losing streak to the Atlanta Hawks with a 93-80 victory at Philips Arena.
Williams' performance came one night after he buried an NBA-record nine 3- pointers in the first half and finishing 11-of-16 from beyond the arc overall, on the way to 42 points in a 95-78 home win over Washington.
Brook Lopez ended with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Andray Blatche also scored 18 for the Nets, who won their third in a row.
"Our shots really started falling," Lopez said. "I missed a few easy ones in the first half, but I got some good looks and our guys set some good screens for me."
Al Horford had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Josh Smith finished with 12 points, two ahead of teammates Johan Petro and John Jenkins.
"It would have been really easy to go into our locker room after the game and start ranting and raving about our performance tonight," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "Very early in tonight's game I sensed our team was not very energized. Our success is predicated upon whether or not we come out with energy. I kind of sensed what we've been going through the last two or 2 1/2 weeks caught up with us tonight."
The big difference in the game was the second quarter, when the Nets held a 28-14 scoring advantage. Atlanta went 7-of-23 from the field in the period.
The teams were tied at 23 after 12 minutes, but the Nets had to bounce back after the Hawks scored 11 of the game's first 12 points.
A 3-point shot from Mirza Teletovic opened a 39-29 difference midway through the second quarter. Williams sank a 3-point shot in the closing minute of the half.
The Nets were ahead by as many as 21 in the third quarter and entered the fourth with a 76-57 cushion. The margin reached 23 early in the final stanza, and Atlanta never threatened in the last 12 minutes.
Game Notes
The Nets are 28-12 against the Eastern Conference ... This was the Nets' first win in Atlanta since Nov. 15, 2008 ... The Hawks committed 17 turnovers, which led to 20 points.
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