April 22, 2015, Brooklyn, NY The Nets got close but didn’t close the show losing to the Atlanta Hawks 96-91 in game two. Coming into game two of the Nets first round playoff matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, the focus of the Nets was to limit the Hawks’ proficiency from the 3 point line, particularly that of the Hawks’ Kyle Korver. The Nets also wanted to focus on containing the ball movement of the Hawks while getting more touches on the offensive end for Brook Lopez who only took seven shots in the first game of the series. The Nets also welcomed back forward Mirza Teletovic, who has been out of the line up since early January due to blood clots.
The Nets made changes to the starting line up moving rookie Markel Brown to the bench and replacing him with Bojan Bogdanovic. The Hawks scored on their first possession with ball movement and player movement on a layup by Jeff Teague. The Nets’ countered with Joe Johnson on the block for the first two possessions but then committed three turnovers, which led to an early timeout by Coach Collins to get things back under control. The Nets once again showed why they have been so enigmatic this season. Deron Williams finished dismally, shooting (1-7) and scoring only 2 points while dishing out 8 assists. Lopez did get more touches tonight and finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds. The bright spot for the Nets was the play of Jarrett Jack, a Georgia Tech alumni. He came off the bench to score 23 points on only 13 shots. The Nets Thaddeus Young had a night to forget. He, like Williams, only managed to score 2 points, and he seemed to be out of sync the entire night. Joe Johnson finished the night with 19 points.
The Nets did manage to contain Kyle Korver from the 3-point line; however, they elected not to guard other Hawks players from behind the arc. Paul Milsap finished with 19 points and went (4-4) from behind the arc and on a couple of those attempts there were no Nets’ defenders within 5 feet of him. Jeff Teague did not have a particularly productive game for the Hawks, finishing with 16 points and 6 assists shooting (6-16) from the floor. The Hawks won this game with their usual balanced attack and great ball movement.
The Nets did manage to stay within striking distance of the Hawks. At the half, they trailed by 3 and began the 3rd with a lob to Lopez from Thaddeus Young, which seem to give the Nets some life. Late in the fourth quarter, the Nets managed to erase a 10-point Hawks lead and pulled within 1 with 1:55 left on the clock on a Jarrett Jack three to make the score 90-89 in favor of the Hawks. The Hawks answered with brilliant ball and player movement that resulted in a layup for Demarre Carrol whose only made shot of the game helped the Hawks pull away for good. Deron Williams missed a game tying jump shot with 20 seconds to go which sealed the faith of the Nets.
The Nets head home failing to win a game on the road; however, the Hawks did what they were supposed to do which was protect their home court. The Nets must do the same in game 3 at Barclays this Saturday.