The Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Atlanta Hawks took on the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets in the first game of the opening round of the playoffs, and they came out with a lead in the series. The Hawks started the game winning 32-20 at the end of the first quarter, and they kept a 10-12 point lead throughout most of the game. At the end of the final quarter though, the Nets started to come back. With about 1:30 left in the game, the Nets brought the lead down to just 4 points. The Hawks quickly put a stop to the Nets comeback hopes though, and on the next possession Jeff Teague hit a floater to bring the lead back up to six points. The Nets put the ball in the hands of Joe Johnson, but he missed a three pointer. After Al Horford missed a mid-range jumper on the Hawks possession, the Nets called a timeout. The Nets ran a play to Joe Johnson again after the timeout, but it was stopped due to great defense by Demarre Carroll. The Nets settled for a bad shot by Deron Williams which missed, and Demarre dove for a rebound and called timeout. Then the Nets fouled Jeff Teague, who hits a lot of clutch free throws, and just like he so often does for Atlanta, he hit both of the free throws to seal the 99-92 win for the Hawks in game 1.
The Hawks were led by sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who made 5 of 11 threes today, ending with a game high 21 points to go along with 7 boards and 3 assists. He also played great defense stealing the ball twice and blocking one shot. The Hawks point guard, Jeff Teague, finished the game with 17 points shooting 6-12 from the field and going 4-4 from the line. Demarre Carroll also had 17 points and 8 rebounds in the Hawks victory. Al Horford helped in the winning effort with a double-double scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Off the bench, Hawks backup point guard Dennis Schroder scored 13 points. As a team, the Hawks played great defense and recorded 11 steals on the day. They also made 10 three pointers compared to just 5 by the Nets.
The Nets scoring leaders tonight were Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez, who both scored 17 points. Brook finished with a double-double, as he also grabbed 14 rebounds. Joe Johnson filled up the stat sheet recording 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and he also stole the ball two times. The Nets point guard, Deron Williams scored 13 points in the loss. Thaddeus Young had a double-double also, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds. Thaddeus and Jarrett Jack, who had 13 points off the bench, were the only players on the team tonight with a positive +/-. One good thing the Nets can take with them as a team tonight is their rebounding numbers, as the beat the Hawks in rebounding 47-39.
The Hawks, who are favored to win the series, and Nets play their next game on Wednesday in Atlanta. The Hawks took the crucial game one, but look for the Nets to challenge the Hawks in game two and try hard not to go down 0-2 before going home to Brooklyn.
