Nets 90, Hawks 88
NEW YORK -- Forward Thaddeus Young knocked down two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining and the Brooklyn Nets edged the Atlanta Hawks 90-88 on Tuesday.
Young scored six of his 16 points in the fourth quarter when the Nets let a six-point lead slip away. His biggest points came after a tremendous defensive sequence by the Nets.
After guard Jarrett Jack tied the game at 88 on an 18-footer with 33 second left, Atlanta guard Dennis Schroder and forward Paul Millsap missed layups. Millsap's attempt was blocked by center Brook Lopez with seven seconds left and it triggered a fast break.
Within moments of releasing the ball with nine-tenths of a second left, Young was fouled by Korver. A review determined it was not a flagrant foul and Young calmly sank the foul shots.
Young and Lopez combined on the final defensive sequence. Forward Thabo Sefolosha had his inbound pass guarded heavily by Lopez and eventually got it into forward Al Horford, but Young intercepted the pass before the Hawks could get a shot off.
Lopez led the Nets with 24 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double while shooting 11-of-21. Jack added 14 and reserve guard Shane Larkin also had 14 for the Nets (2-9).
Horford led the Hawks with 18 points and Millsap added 17 for Atlanta, which shot 43.4 percent and committed 20 turnovers in its third straight loss.
Before the dramatic final sequence, the Nets opened a 76-70 lead on a put-back by Lopez with 8:17 remaining but the Hawks scored the next eight points and took a 78-76 edge on an open 19-footer by Horford with 5:15 remaining. Brooklyn hung around and took an 83-82 lead when Johnson's off-balance jumper rolled in with 2:43 to go.
On the next possession, Lopez was fouled by Korver and split a pair at the line with 1:53 left. Millsap was fouled on the other end but also split a pair and it was an 84-83 game with 1:39 remaining.
Following a timeout by the Nets, Johnson missed an off-balance jumper and Horford knocked down a 19-footer with 1:14 left, giving the Hawks an 85-84 lead. After Johnson's short jumper put Brooklyn ahead 86-85 with 57.1 seconds left, Schroder found Thabo Sefalosha for an open 3-pointer with 40.9 seconds left, giving the Hawks a 3-point lead.
NOTES: Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer did not have any updates on the status of G Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) and F Kent Bazemore (right ankle sprain) other than saying Tegaue was closer to returning than Bazemore. ... Nets coach Lionel Hollins was asked about the team's morale and reiterated it was good. "I get asked that all the time. We're not 0-80." ... Atlanta C Tiago Splitter made his first start of the season as part of a bigger lineup that Budenholzer has wanted get more looks at since training camp. ... Tuesday marked Atlanta's first visit to Brooklyn since eliminating the Nets from the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on May 1. Seven players who appeared in the game are no longer with Brooklyn, including PG Deron Williams.