Nets at Hawks
Since a lackluster performance in their season opener, the Atlanta Hawks have resembled the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals last season. Solid defense and balanced offense – sparked by outstanding play from point guard Jeff Teague – have resulted in four consecutive victories for the Hawks, who host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday in a rematch of a first-round playoff series last spring won by Atlanta in six games.
Teague scored 26 points and had a season-high nine assists in Atlanta’s 98-92 victory Tuesday at Miami and leads five Hawks averaging double figures in scoring at 19.8 points. Atlanta forced 18 turnovers against the Heat, the average the Hawks have forced during their winning streak while limiting opponents to 94.8 points per contest. The Nets have not won a meaningful game since an overtime victory over Atlanta in Game 4 of the playoffs last season, and have dropped their past five regular-season contests against the Hawks. Center Brook Lopez comes in averaging 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds for Brooklyn, which has allowed more than 100 points in all four games while losing by an average of 14.8 points.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, YES Network (Brooklyn), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE NETS (0-4): Lopez has followed his strong second half of last season – during which he averaged 19.7 points and 9.2 rebounds – by leading Brooklyn in scoring three times through four games. But the Nets are near the bottom of the NBA in team scoring (90.5) while allowing opponents to hit 48.6 percent of their field-goal attempts. Guard Joe Johnson, who averaged 20.9 points in seven season with the Hawks, scored 16.5 points against Atlanta in last season’s playoffs but shot 36.2 percent from the field.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (4-1): Paul Millsap recorded his third double-double in five games Tuesday (12 points, 10 rebounds) and added three steals as Atlanta pushed its road record to 3-0 – its best start away from home since 2010-11. Teague is averaging 5.8 assists and Atlanta has surpassed 20 assists in each game so far. Kent Bazemore is averaging 16.3 points in his past three contests, shooting 8-for-13 from 3-point range and 51.5 percent from the field.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Brooklyn has not won a game in Atlanta since March 9, 2013.
2. Teague’s nine assists Tuesday give him 2,230 for his career, tying Jason Terry for ninth in franchise history.
3. The Nets are in the midst of playing 10 of their first 15 games away from home; only Toronto (11) has more road contests in the first 15 games of the season.