Field Level Media
Dec 16, 2018
D'Angelo Russell scored 32 points and the Brooklyn Nets won their fifth straight game, a 144-127 decision over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Russell was 13 for 19 from the field and 5 for 9 on 3-pointers and added six rebounds and seven assists. He scored 18 in the first half.
The Nets are in the middle of their longest winning streak since the 2014-15 season, when they won six straight.
Brooklyn also got 18 points from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and 16 each from Jared Dudley and Joe Harris. Spencer Dinwiddie and ex-Hawk DeMarre Carroll each scored 15.
Atlanta lost its third straight and has dropped seven of its last eight games. The Hawks were led by John Collins, who added 29 points and eight rebounds, but saw his streak of double-doubles end at six.
Dewayne Dedmon set a career high with 24 points -- hitting 5 of 5 3-pointers -- and added 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Kent Bazemore had 20 points and seven assists, and rookie Trae Young had 13 points and 10 assists. But rookie Kevin Huerter, who had scored a career-high 18 points in each of the last two games, managed only four.
It was the first of three meetings between the two clubs this season. The Nets have won four in a row against the Hawks and seven of the last eight meetings.
The Hawks allowed 42 points in the first quarter for the second straight game; it happened Friday against Boston. But Sunday afternoon after Brooklyn took a 42-23 first-quarter lead -- and led by 21 points on three occasions -- Atlanta roared back to outscore the Nets 43-30 in the second period and cut Brooklyn's lead to 72-66 at halftime.
Russell scored the first five points of the second half, including a 3-pointer, to restore Brooklyn's lead to double-digits early in the third quarter, and the Hawks never got closer than eight points.
Atlanta returns home on Tuesday to host Washington. The Nets host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, the finale of its three-game homestand.
--Field Level Media