Hawks 131, Nets 99
DeMarre Carroll led the way with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds as Atlanta crushed visiting Brooklyn.
Al Horford added 20 points in 21 minutes on 10-of-13 shooting and Jeff Teague collected 17 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who tied the franchise record for wins at 57. Thabo Sefolosha scored 12 points while Kyle Korver and Kent Bazemore each hit 3-pointers and Atlanta finished 17-of-33 from beyond the arc.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points off the bench to lead the Nets, who had a six-game winning streak come to an end. Thaddeus Young scored 14 points to lead the starters while Jarrett Jack added 14 in a reserve role as Brooklyn had its lead over Boston for the No. 7 spot in the East trimmed to one-half game.
Carroll knocked down 3-pointers on two straight possessions to push the lead to 31-18 with less than a minute left in the first quarter and the Hawks hit their first eight shots of the second to spread it to 50-29. The lead reached 27 points late in the second quarter before Atlanta settled for a 66-48 advantage at the break.
The Hawks knocked down seven of their first eight shots of the third quarter, including 3-pointers from Mike Muscala, Teague, Korver and Carroll as the lead reached 84-54. Carroll dunked off a turnover and followed it up with a 3-pointer off another miscue on the next possession to stretch it to 103-66 late in the third and the reserves took care of the rest.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Atlanta F Paul Millsap suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return. … The Hawks previously reached 57 wins in the 1993-94 and 1986-87 seasons. … Brooklyn committed 21 turnovers, leading to 33 Atlanta points.