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*Photo via Getty
The Brooklyn Nets evened the series at two apiece Monday night, in a 120-115 overtime win. This was over the top seeded Atlanta Hawks at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
For the second consecutive season the Atlanta Hawks are involved in an unlikely dogfight in the first round. Last year they were the eighth seed giving the number one seeded Pacers all they could handle, before falling in seven games. This season the shoe is on the other foot and they are struggling with the suddenly rejuvenated Nets.
It must have been throwback Monday in Brooklyn, because someone forgot to tell Deron Williams it was 2015 and not 2008. The Nets guard was fantastic in game four and made every big play down the stretch in this basketball game. This came after he didn’t play the last 16 minutes of a game three win, and only managed to score three points.
Coach Lionel Hollins backed his starting point guard to the media prior to the game four win. Obviously people have been very critical of Deron’s play. He answered in a big way Monday with 35 points, including a career high seven threes in a postseason game. Deron added seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals to his stat line.
Early on in this game the Hawks looked poised to take the three to one series lead. They were very aggressive on the offensive glass and made the extra pass like they have all year long. The Hawks were great from three in the first quarter(4 for 4), but struggled the rest of the game going nine for 29 from deep in the final three quarters. The Hawks lead this game by six at half and eight after three quarters. They seemed to have control but couldn’t seal the deal on the road.
The Hawks, often referred to as the Spurs of the East, were clicking on all cylinders. They assisted on 15 of their 20 field goals in the first half. The ball movement was excellent and they looked composed. However the Nets two best offensive players were too much to handle in this one. Brook Lopez chipped in with 26 points and 10 rebounds and was a force in the paint all night long.
The Nets had six players in double figures including all five starters. The unsung hero was Bojan Bogdanovic. He was clutch all night long and made several timely threes in the second half to force this game into overtime.
A driving dunk by Paul Millsap tied the the game at 104. The Nets had 16 seconds remaining in regulation to take the final shot. However, Deron Williams missed a turnaround mid range jump shot right in front of the Nets bench with six seconds left. This left too much time on the clock for the Hawks but they failed to get a shot off in time. The Nets proceeded to dominate the overtime period 16-11.
Player of the Game: Deron Williams. He faced former Jazz teammate, Paul Millsap Monday night, and Deron played like he did when he was on the Jazz. This was vintage Deron Williams, who was seven for 11 from downtown, and had 35 big points for the Nets, who needed every single one.
Dud of the Game: The Atlanta Hawks second half defense. After holding the Nets to 45 points in the first half in 24 minutes, they gave up 75 points in 29 minutes in the second half. That includes the five minute overtime session.
Stat of the Game: The Nets had four players play over 43 minutes. Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Bojan Bogdanovic all virtually played the entire game.
We now have a best of three series. The home team has won all four games in this series, so if the Nets want to pull the upset they need to win a game on the road. Game five would be a great place to start Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Game five is Wednesday at 7pm