Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Horford scored 24 points, none bigger than his dunk with 19 seconds left, that lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a 114-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
Atlanta trailed 109-108 when out of a timeout, coach Mike Budenholzer drew up a play to get Horford a clean look underneath on a feed from Kyle Korver.
"Kyle just made a good read," said Horford. "The play was for him to get his shot, and they closed out on him really hard and he made a nice read."
Jarrett Jack and Bojan Bogdanovic missed triples at the other end. Jeff Teague secured the rebound on the second miss and made two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.
Joe Johnson's turnaround 3 from the left wing went in and out as the buzzer sounded.
"I thought it was on line, not necessarily a great shot," said Johnson on his last second attempt. "But that was the best shot available for us."
Mike Scott netted 20 points off the bench, DeMarre Carroll gave 19 and Teague had 15 points and 12 assists for Atlanta, which has already clinched homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs but had incentive to beat the Nets. Atlanta has the right to switch draft picks with Brooklyn going back to a 2012 trade that sent Johnson to the Nets.
"You don't want to just come in and say you have a seed locked up and just show up in the playoffs and hoop" said Korver. "You want to be in rhythm, be in sync. I thought tonight was a step in the right direction."
With the loss, the Nets fell into a virtual tie with Boston for the eighth spot in the conference, one game ahead of Indiana and idle Miami.
Brook Lopez posted 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Deron Williams and Thaddeus Young also recorded double-doubles, and Johnson scored 21 points in the setback.
The Hawks were crisp from the opening tip, jumping out to a quick 19-9 lead after assisting on their first nine baskets. They answered every Brooklyn run and only trailed for a brief stretch late in the game.
The Nets were within one following Bogdanovic's three-point play at 4:41 of the second quarter. Atlanta scored on its next six possessions to rebuild a 59-49 lead.
The margin hovered between five and 14 until Johnson's jumper midway through the fourth got Brooklyn within 105-101. Later, Young spun in the paint and got a layup to go to make it a one-point game, and Johnson followed with a baseline runner to give the Nets their first lead.
Teague's driving lefty layup at 1:38 restored Atlanta's lead, but Williams put in a floater with 33 ticks left to set up the finish.
Game Notes
Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha and center Pero Antic were arrested on Tuesday following an incident at a New York club that also included Pacers swingman Chris Copeland. Copeland, his wife and another woman were stabbed during the incident. Sefolosha and Antic were reportedly arrested for obstructing and released prior to the game, though neither logged any time ... The Hawks beat Brooklyn 131-99 on Saturday. They have won five straight in the series ... Atlanta forward Paul Millsap (shoulder) missed his second straight game ... Young scored 15 points with 11 rebounds, and Williams had 10 with 13 assists.
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