Streaking Hawks survive Durant’s 55, hold off Nets 122-115

ATLANTA APRIL 3 (US): Kevin Durant set a new scoring record, though it was Danilo Gallinari and the Atlanta Hawks who celebrated with a post-game toast.

Trae Young scored 36 points, including a nine in the last minute, and the Hawks beat back-to-back 55 points to claim their fifth straight win in the Brooklyn Nets, 122-115 Saturday night.

Atlanta (41-37) advanced to eighth in the Eastern Conference, ahead of Brooklyn (40-38) and Charlotte.

“We’re playing good basketball right now,” Young said.

Gallinari led 15 points off the bench that beat Brooklyn Reserves 46-12. That was worth a reward, Gallinari said, and said Hawks coach Nate Macmillan provided it.

“The coach gave the wine glass to ‘Bench Mob,'” said Gallinari, adding that the backups have used that nickname since last season.

“Cheers!” added Gallinari, raising the trophy he had taken to his post-match press conference.

In an effort to regain the late-season momentum that propelled them to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the Hawks won 10 of 13.

Durant set another career high by making eight three-pointers, but his focus after the game was on his team.

“I’m not worried about that,” Durant said of the record. “I’m just angry at the loss.”

The Nets’ second loss in a row left them locked in the championship play, dashing their slim hopes of climbing to sixth in the conference.

Kyrie Irving had 31 points to complement Durant, but the Nets had no other top scorer in the double figures. Brooklyn had little scoring support for its two captains while losing two freshmen and senior backups.

Goran Dragic has not played backup point guard after being put into NBA health and safety protocols with symptoms of COVID-19. Coach Steve Nash said Dragic was “not feeling well”.

Just minutes before the game, Brooklyn’s backcourt took another blow when player Seth Curry was ruled out with a left ankle injury. The Nets were also without striker Bruce Brown, who Nash said had the flu.

Durant’s 19 third-quarter points included back-to-back 3s late in the period, giving him another 16-point netting.

Thanks to Durant, the net fell only 94-87 to enter the last period after trailing 15 points in the first half. Brooklyn trimmed Atlanta’s lead to 95-90 on the 3-pointer by Irving before Atlanta responded 12-3 to push its lead to 14 points.

Durant scored 13 of Brooklyn’s first 18 points while defeating each of his first three throws. Durant and Irving scored 22 of 30 first-half points and 38 of 50 in the first half, including 25 from Durant.

Atlanta relied on more balanced goals while leading 14-0 in the second half. Dillon Wright sank two 3-pointers in the run. The Hawks finished the game with three consecutive goals from Young and Gallinari to lead 65-50 at the break.

Hint

Nets: Durant’s previous high was 54 points for Oklahoma City on January 17, 2014. Its previous season high was 53 points against the Knicks on March 13… Brooklyn opponents. The previous high was 38. …Nash said he hoped Brown would only miss one game. … J. David Duke Jr. and C. Daeron Sharp have been called up from JL Long Island.

The Hawks: Young had 10 assists. … de Andre Hunter 15 points. … J Lou Williams appeared on his 1,000th game from the bench, extending an NBA record. Earlier this season, Williams surpassed the Dell Curry mark with 984 games played as a backup.

Lots of mistakes

Durant reached his career high points with a layup with 19 seconds remaining. He said that poor defense – and a lot of mistakes – spoiled the match for the net.

“It wasn’t because of the referees, it was because of our access to us,” Durant said.

Nash complained about the errors, saying, “You can’t give them 49 free throws. …Tonight was a poor performance. Clear our minds, recover and come back to that again.”

Too little help with scoring

Durant and Irving together totaled 81 points — and some NBA history.

According to Stats by STATS, the Nets became the first team in NBA history to lose a game while a player scores at least 55 points and adds at least the last 30 points.

next one

Nets: Coming home to Houston on Tuesday.

Hawks: Visit Toronto on Tuesday.