The Brooklyn Nets haven't lost a home game in more than two months, which is bad news for the Atlanta Hawks, who need a win at Barclays Center on Friday as they try to lock up their seventh straight trip to the postseason. The Hawks have a two-game lead over the New York Knicks for the final berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Atlanta has struggled to a 12-27 road mark, which might be a tough trend to buck with Brooklyn having won a franchise-record 15 straight at home.
The Nets haven't lost on their home court since falling to Oklahoma City on Jan. 31. "They've been playing well at home, better than any team," Hawks big man Elton Brand told reporters. "It's going to be a tough task but it's the same thing — keep the pace up, get our shots and get our shooters open." Brooklyn, which won the first two meetings, has not swept the season series from Atlanta since the 2004-05 season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), WWOR (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (35-43): The Hawks preserved their lead over the Knicks by rallying for a 105-97 win over Boston on Wednesday, rebounding from an alarmingly bad third quarter to outscore the Celtics 35-20 in the fourth. Power forward Paul Millsap has recorded six consecutive double-doubles, the second-longest streak of his career, and is averaging 20.2 points and 12.7 rebounds during that stretch. Atlanta could play their second straight game without rookie center Pero Antic, who is nursing a sore right ankle.
ABOUT THE NETS (43-35): Brooklyn is virtually locked into the No. 5 seed, trailing Toronto and Chicago by three games and leading Charlotte by three. The Nets have gotten an average of 26 points from guard Joe Johnson in the two previous matchups with his former team this season; Johnson is coming off a 31-point performance in Wednesday's 115-111 loss at Orlando. The Nets should have forward Paul Pierce back after he sat out the Magic game with a hip pointer, and center Andray Blatche is expected to return after missing the past two games because of illness.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Johnson has made a 3-pointer in a career-best 27 straight games and his 156 this season are tied for third on the Nets' single-season list behind Deron Williams (169) and Kerry Kittles (158).
2. Kyle Korver's 184 3-pointers are the fifth-most in Hawks history, five behind his total from last season. Mookie Blaylock owns the top three spots on the list (231, 221, 199).
3. Pierce needs five points to become the fourth active player (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki) and the 18th in NBA history with 25,000 career points.