nets.JPG
Brooklyn Nets guard Jarrett Jack, left, fouls Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague during the second half in Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Saturday.
(Associated Press)
Brook Lopez had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Thaddeus Young added 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets beat Atlanta 91-83 on Saturday to cut the Hawks' lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference series.
The Nets seized control with an 18-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters after the Hawks grabbed their first lead since the opening basket, then went on to beat the No. 1 for the first time in seven meetings this season.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points for the eighth-seeded Nets, who can tie the series with another victory here Monday night in Game 4.
DeMarre Carroll scored a playoff career-high 22 points for the Hawks, who were denied what would have been their second 3-0 lead since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Paul Millsap added 18 points and 17 rebounds.
The other three East series were all 3-0 entering Saturday, but the Hawks won't be able to wrap this one up quickly after getting poor performances from All-Stars Kyle Korver (two points, 0 for 5 on 3-pointers) and Al Horford (3 for 12, seven points).
Still, they had recovered from a poor start to grab the lead late in the third quarter before the Nets put together their big run.
Young, who apologized to his teammates after scoring only two points on 1-of-7 shooting in Game 2, answered Atlanta's 11-0 run that gave the Hawks a 62-58 lead with three straight baskets. The Nets scored the last nine of the third, and Lopez took over when they went 9-0 to open the fourth and build a 76-62 lead.
The Nets had been closer to the Hawks after their first three losses this season were all by double digits - including a 32-point stomping on April 4. This time, they got the quick start coach Lionel Hollins wanted after they were outscored by 17 points in the first quarters of the previous two games.
The Nets, who wore their road black uniforms, got it without much help from the home fans at the mid-afternoon start anyway, with black giveaway T-shirts hanging over loads of empty seats all around the arena.
The fans that were here at the beginning saw Brooklyn run off 11 straight points in the opening minutes, then close the first quarter with nine straight to open a 31-16 lead. The Nets had nine assists on their 11 baskets in the period, but the Hawks chipped away through the second quarter before moving ahead in the third.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Atlanta's lone 3-0 lead was in 1969-70 against Chicago in the Western Division semifinals, a series it won 4-1. ... Carroll's previous career high in the postseason was 18 points on April 24, 2014, against Indiana. ... Horford finished with seven points and eight rebounds after collecting double-doubles in the first two games.
Nets: Deron Williams, who went 1 for 7 in Game 2 and missed a jumper that would've tied it in the closing seconds, was 1 for 8 in this one, going to be the bench just before the Nets started the pivotal run and staying there the rest of the way. ... Brooklyn had dropped seven straight to Atlanta dating to last season.
NEW YORK NIGHTLIFE
The Hawks are back in New York for the first time since reserve swingman Thabo Sefolosha was lost to a broken right leg when he and Pero Antic were arrested by New York police outside a nightclub. Coach Mike Budenholzer said then his players didn't have a curfew and he wasn't worried about them on this trip, either. "We're trying to keep our routine and everything on the court and off the court as close to normal as possible and I think we've got guys that are very mature, very responsible," he said. "I think they're all in a good place and know how important what's happening is. We're just going about our business."