Hawks 93, Nets 88: Paul Millsap collected 27 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Teague poured in 22 points as visiting Atlanta held on to snap Brooklyn's 15-game home winning streak.
DeMarre Carroll tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, who reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one. Atlanta survived a 1-for-19 performance from 3-point range to maintain its two-game lead over New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Mason Plumlee scored 17 points off the bench and fellow reserve Marcus Thornton added 14 for the Nets, who lost at home for the first time since Jan. 31. Paul Pierce scored 13 points and Jorge Gutierrez added 11 in his first career start as Brooklyn was without guards Deron Williams (knee) and Shaun Livingston (toe).
The Nets were down one when Gutierrez drew a charge on Teague, but the call was reversed after a review and Teague knocked down both free throws to make it 91-88 with 1:46 left. Brooklyn failed to convert on its next four possessions and Teague's bucket helped the Hawks seal it.
The Hawks led 55-47 at halftime and extended it to 11 early in the third before Brooklyn stormed back. Thornton scored seven points over the final six minutes of the quarter and Mirza Teletovic hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Nets within 74-73 going into the fourth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pierce became the fourth active player (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki) and the 18th in NBA history with 25,000 career points. … Former Hawks G Joe Johnson scored just nine points on 4-of-15 shooting after averaging 26 points in the two previous meetings with Atlanta this season. … Millsap has recorded seven consecutive double-doubles.
Atlanta | Brooklyn | |
Paul Millsap 27 | Scoring | Mason Plumlee 17 |
Dennis Schroder 4 | Assists | Jorge Gutierrez 4 |
DeMarre Carroll 11 | Rebounds | Kevin Garnett 10 |
Jeff Teague 8 | Free Throws Made | Mason Plumlee 5 |
Elton Brand 2 | Steals | Jorge Gutierrez 2 |
Elton Brand 4 | Blocks | Kevin Garnett 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Atlanta | 93 | 45.6 | 1-19 | 20-21 | 17 | 44 | 9 | 5 | 13 |
Brooklyn | 88 | 42.5 | 6-22 | 14-25 | 22 | 38 | 3 | 9 | 15 |