Nets at Hawks
The Brooklyn Nets dropped back-to-back games against the two teams directly behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. They'll try to stop the bleeding when they face the East's last-place squad with a visit to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
After winning seven of 10 to strengthen its hold on seventh place in the conference, Brooklyn fell to eighth-place Orlando and then ninth-place Washington, cutting its lead over those two teams to a half-game and five games, respectively. "I am dumbfounded by how we weren't mentally into the game," coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters after Wednesday's 110-106 loss to the Wizards. "I am not taking anything away from Washington. But there were just some infantile mistakes out there in terms of the turnovers." The Hawks burst out of the gate following the All-Star break with wins over playoff hopefuls Miami and Dallas before dropping a pair to Philadelphia and Orlando while giving up an average of 129.5 points. All-Star guard Trae Young's 37 points and 11 assists were not enough in Wednesday's 130-120 loss to the Magic.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: YES, FS Southeast
ABOUT THE NETS (26-31): Caris LeVert is winding down a phenomenal month that has seen him break out with six games of 20 points or more, including 34 at Washington. He is making 46.6 percent of his 3-pointers in the month and also has 2.1 steals per game, including a total of 16 over his last five contests. Center DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 16 rebounds in Wednesday's loss for his fourth double-double of the month.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (17-43): Young was battling through an illness during Wednesday's loss, which left him with an average of 35 points in four games since the break. He hit only 2-of-14 shots in the second half, telling reporters after the game he was not feeling well, and struggled to contribute as Orlando put together a 29-9 run after halftime to seize control. "The third quarter was brutal," coach Lloyd Pierce told the media. "The first timeout is called, and we just kind of fell apart the rest of that third quarter. It's really our defensive end. We just couldn't get stops."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets SF Wilson Chandler sat out Wednesday for personal reasons and is day-to-day.
2. Hawks PF John Collins is averaging 25.1 points and 10.2 rebounds in February.
3. Brooklyn took each of the first three meetings - all by double digits - and has won eight in a row in the series.