Nets at Hawks
Deron Williams was a shell of himself for the first three games of the playoffs but broke out just in time to turn things around for the Brooklyn Nets. Williams will try to keep up the pace on the road and turn the series in the Nets’ favor they visit the Atlanta Hawks for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Williams was on the bench for the fourth quarter of Brooklyn’s Game 3 victory and totaled five points on 2-of-15 shooting in Games 2 and 3 before tying a postseason career high with 35 points on Monday. The former star took a lot of heat for his subpar play from both critics and former teammates before breaking out in the 120-115 overtime win. "People are always going to say something,” Williams told reporters. “… I'll let them talk and try not to let it affect me as much as possible. I've got a lot of people that love me, and that's the most important thing.” The top-seeded Hawks swept the four games in the regular season and took the first two in the series before stumbling.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, YES (Brooklyn), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE NETS: Williams fought through tailbone and leg injuries in the Game 4 performance and knocked down one of the highlight shots of the postseason when he crossed over behind the back and hit a fadeaway 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down late in the fourth quarter. "I honestly don't even know what happened," Williams told reporters. "I just know the clock was winding down and I had to get a shot off. But it felt good as soon as it left my hand, though.” Williams buried seven 3-pointers and went 13-of-25 from the field to go along with seven assists and five rebounds in the win.
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Atlanta dominated the glass 55-40 in Game 4 but could not hit the shots it needed down the stretch. The Hawks shot 52.4 percent from the field and were having their best night of the series from the outside in the first three quarters while building an 82-74 lead but slumped to 13-of-32 in the fourth quarter and overtime, including 3-of-14 from 3-point range. "This is what the playoffs are all about,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. “What we expect is to be challenged, and this is a great challenge for us.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks F DeMarre Carroll is averaging 21 points while going 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the last two games.
2. Brooklyn C Brook Lopez posted his third double-double of the series in Game 4.
3. Atlanta G Kyle Korver is 4-of-18 from 3-point range in the last two contests.