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*Photo via Getty Images
Game two of the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets series resulted in a 96-91, Hawks win. The Hawks now have a two-nothing lead in the series.
This game was a strange one, both teams were all over the place. The Hawks ability to protect the ball and force turnovers was the difference in the game.
Even with that said, the Hawks gave the Nets plenty of chances to take the game in the final minutes. This has been a constant story for the Nets; failing to capitalize on opportunities. The Hawks struggled from the field and had stretches where they were ice cold. They also gave the Nets plenty of open shots.
Still the Hawks have to feel pretty good about winning the game, considering they shot under 40 percent from the field, were out-rebounded, outscored in the paint, and outscored in bench points.
Game Summary:
The game started much like game one, the Hawks jumped all over the sluggish Nets. The Hawks hit their first five shots, but then had a stretch where they went three of 14 from the field. Even with that stretch, the Hawks were able to score 29 points in the quarter and had a five point lead. The Nets did close the quarter strong, including a corner three from Alan Anderson, where he had a chance at a four-point play, but failed.
The Nets carried their momentum into the second quarter and resulting in a 11-2 run. The run was led by Jarret Jack, who caught fire in the quarter. The Hawks seemed frustrated at this point and the Nets lead was up to six.
The Hawks responded with a run of their own. This time a 12-3 run, that resulted in a three-point lead going into the half. This lead was thanks to the play of Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver in the first half.
The Hawks had control most of the third quarter. Mostly thanks to some crisp ball-movement and a few shots by Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap, again.
The struggles of Thaddeus Young were very apparent in this quarter, from having his shot blocked to missing free-throws. On the other side, Korver’s impact was apparent in the quarter. The amount of attention he gets, leads to a lot of open looks for his teammates.
After a strong third the Hawks had a nine point lead going into the fourth quarter and they needed all of it. The way the quarter started you would expect them to roll off with the win. The Hawks were running smoothly and the Nets started the quarter 0 from four from the field. The Nets didn’t go away though, even with the terrible play of Deron Williams.
Late in the fourth in the last few minutes, Jarret Jack and Joe Johnson hit some big threes to cut the Hawks lead to one. It was anyone's game at that point and the Nets had a chance to tie it with 10 seconds left , but Deron Williams missed a wide open jumper. From that point, the Hawks just needed to hit their free throws, which they did for the win.
Player of the Game: Paul Millsap looked a lot better than game one. He finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assist. He also shot seven for 11 from the field, and four for four from three.
Dud of the Game: Deron Williams not only had a bad shooting night, scoring two points and shooting one from seven from the field. He missed the potential game typing jumper with 10 seconds to go.
Stat of the Game: The turnovers were the difference in the game, a battle the Hawks won again eight to 16.
The Hawks now have a commanding two game lead on the Nets. The crazy thing is the Nets had a chance to win both of those games or at worse one of them. Typical Nets, they don’t capitalize. The Nets need to finish games at home if they want to extend the series.
The Hawks have shown they can lose to the Nets, but still, the Hawks are the better team and should still win the series. They also haven’t been great in their two wins, which can be viewed as a positive or negative. It shows they are good team and can find ways to win. The negative is they are facing the Nets, if this was a more consistent team they could be on the other side of the series.
The Nets need to win the next two if they want any chance in the series.
The Hawks on the other hand , can make this a quick series and get their banged up guys some extra rest, if they grab game three.
Game three is Saturday at 3:00 pm on TNT.