April 19, 2015 Queens, NY It was not, I repeat, was not a blowout. The Nets fought valiantly in game one losing 99-92, to the Atlanta Hawks after a sluggish first quarter where they were outscored 32-20. Conventional wisdom declared the Nets, who lost all four regular season games to the Hawks, to be all but dead. Evidently, the Nets didn’t get that memo.
The Nets entered the playoffs with the glass being half full (going 13-6 down the stretch) or half empty (needing an Indiana loss to make the playoffs) depending on your perspective. The Hawks won 60 games for the first time in franchise history and seemed to be poised to sweep the Nets. By halftime, the Nets cut the lead to 10, trailing 55-45. Even though the Nets shot 50% on 19/38 shooting, they turned the ball over 11 times and had only 7 assists (all of them coming in the second quarter). In the third quarter, the Nets were down by as many as 16 points but closed the gap slightly as the Hawks led 74-62. In the fourth quarter the Nets came storming back, cutting the lead to 93-89 with a little under two minutes to play. The Hawks outscored the Nets six to three and held on to win 99-92.
Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez led the Nets with 17 points apiece, and Lopez added a career playoff high 14 rebounds. Thaddeus Young scored 15 points and snatched 10 rebounds. The Nets scored 54 points inside the paint and outrebounded the Hawks 47-39. Additionally, the Nets shot a higher field goal percentage than the Hawks (45.6% to 43%) but shot a measly 68.2% from the charity stripe compared to the Hawks’ 95.6%.
Game two will be played on Wednesday in Atlanta, and then the Nets return to Brooklyn for games three and four on Saturday and the following Monday.
The Nets have a lot to build on and should be confident going into game two. If Deron Williams can play commensurate to his salary, the Nets have a good chance to beat the Hawks. The Nets, who are the eighth seed, would be only the fourth eighth seed to defeat a one seed in the best-of-seven format. If Lopez and Johnson score at least 20 points apiece and the Nets cut down on their turnovers, the Hawks could find themselves in the tenuous position of having to play game seven against a team having tremendous momentum and incentive.
Lionel Hollins will have plenty of “good stuff” to create the spin that should have the Nets believing in themselves. The Nets proved they have the talent to hang with the Nets, and more importantly, they displayed grit. Brooklyn Grit.
Professor Clifford Benton can be reached at cliffb@puresportsny.com