Nets at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have lost six games in a row as they struggle to stay in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff race, but own a golden opportunity on Sunday at home when the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets pay a visit. The Nets are the only team in the East to be eliminated from the postseason race and are 5-30 away from home as they prepare to play two of their next three games on the road.
Brooklyn was outscored 55-18 after building an early lead in Friday’s 129-108 loss at Washington, snapping a brief two-game winning streak and sending the Nets 42 games under .500. “I feel like we could’ve handled it a little differently,” Brooklyn forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson told reporters afterward, “but that’s on us.” Atlanta has scored at least 100 points just once during its losing streak, falling 100-97 Friday in Milwaukee to slip into a tie with the Bucks for fifth place in the East. “Whether it’s a defensive rebound or a better decision, those plays add up to winning and we’ve just got to make a few more of those winning plays,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told the media afterward.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE NETS (15-57): Brooklyn has played better in March, going 6-8 and posting its second-largest victory of the season in Thursday’s 126-98 rout of Phoenix. Justin Hamilton’s team-high 20 points off the bench Friday marked his second consecutive game in double figures (10 points against Phoenix), after he scored 10 or more points just once in his previous 19 contests. Caris LeVert is shooting 36.8 percent from 3-point range this month, while Jeremy Lin is averaging 13.5 points in his past 15 games.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (37-35): Atlanta has lost its past two games by a combined total of seven points, but is just 3-9 in its past 12 games. Starters Paul Millsap (18.1 points per game) and Kent Bazemore (11 per contest) remain sidelined with knee injuries and are not expected to play Sunday. Dwight Howard is tied for sixth in the NBA with 47 double-doubles after a 20-point, 12-rebound performance against Milwaukee, and was fourth in the league in rebounding (12.8 per contest) and in field-goal percentage (63.3 percent) entering Saturday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Brooklyn F Quincy Acy is shooting 47.8 percent from 3-point range since joining the Nets on Jan. 10 (26 games).
2. Hawks G Tim Hardaway Jr. has scored 54 points on 51.5 percent shooting from the field the last two contests.
3. Atlanta has won three in a row over the Nets, including both matchups this season, and owns a five-game home winning streak against Brooklyn.