Hawks at Nets
The eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets showed some fight in the first two games of their Eastern Conference playoff series but could not make the plays they needed down the stretch. The top-seeded Atlanta Hawks will try to build a commanding 3-0 lead when they visit the Nets for Game 3 on Saturday.
Brooklyn had a chance to take control of Game 2 in the final seconds but point guard Deron Williams put the cap on a terrible night with a jumper that fell short from the left side, leading to the clinching free throws in the 96-91 final. "It felt really good," Williams, who finished with two points, told reporters of the shot. "I thought it was in. I let it go and then it hit the rim and just rimmed out.” The Hawks spent the season running up a big lead in the East with their offensive balance and spread the ball around in each of the first two games. Kyle Korver’s 21 points in Game 1 stand as the highest individual total for Atlanta in the series.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, TNT, SportSouth (Atlanta), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Atlanta forward Paul Millsap went 2-of-11 from the field while playing with a bulky shoulder brace in Game 1. The All-Star ditched the brace for Game 2 and ended up going 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 7-of-11 from the floor en route to a team-high 19 points. “Definitely more range and definitely more mobility,” Millsap told reporters. “When you can’t pick your arms up above your ears, your shoulders up above your ears, it’s kind of tough. So I was able to do that (in Game 2), and more than likely I’ll go without it again the next game.”
ABOUT THE NETS: Williams, who drew criticism from former teammate Paul Pierce questioning his desire on the eve of the playoffs, is 6-of-18 from the field in the first two games of the series. "He was defending,” Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins told reporters of Williams. “He made some hustle plays. Shooting comes and goes. People can criticize all they want, but if you are not in the game performing and doing it and going through the battle, you can't say anything.” Backup point guard Jarrett Jack led the team with 23 points in Game 2.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets F Thaddeus Young joined Williams with a poor performance of his own with two points on 1-of-7 shooting in Game 2.
2. Atlanta C Al Horford managed 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while playing through a dislocated finger in Game 2.
3. Korver is averaging 19 points on 11-of-21 shooting in the series.