Jalen Johnson scored 23 points with a dunk near the foul line in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks overcame an injury to Trae Young as well as an early 12-point deficit to hang on for a 117-112 victory over the winless Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in New York.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 and Luke Kennard contributed 17 as the Hawks received 59 points from their reserves. Kristaps Porzingis had 14 and seven assists as the Hawks shot 47.3%.
Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 32 points, but the Nets lost their fifth straight game and are off to their worst start since the start of 2015-16 with seven straight losses. Cam Thomas added 19 while Nic Claxton contributed 18 and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn shot 45.5% from the floor and allowed 27 points off 16 turnovers.
Johnson shot 10 of 16 and his dunk came with 8:06 left as the Hawks tried to close things out.
After a basket by Brooklyn’s Tyrese Martin, Johnson scooped the ball from Dyson Daniels and drove past Jalen Wilson near midcourt. He took off in front of the foul line, passed Porter Jr and Claxton, used his right hand to complete the dunk and give the Hawks a 104-92 lead.
Johnson’s dunk came well after Young was out with a sprained right knee following a collision with teammate Mouhamed Gueye with 2:09 left in the first quarter while defending an inside pass. Young scored six points in seven minutes before limping off the floor.
Johnson’s dunk barely finished things off as the Nets trailed all night and trailed 115-112 after Porter hit two free throws with 1:28 left.
Brooklyn had another chance following a missed 3 by Alexander-Walker, but Claxton missed two shots in the lane and Luke Kennard made two free throws with 26.2 seconds remaining. The game ended with Thomas blocked at the rim by Alexander-Walker and missing a 3-point try in the final 15.4 seconds.
Atlanta gave up the first 12 points, but held a 34-27 lead throughout the first quarter and a 13-point lead at halftime.
Brooklyn pulled closer in the opening minutes of the third, closing to within 77-71 on a Terance Mann basket with 5:24 left. The Hawks took a 15-point lead nearly two minutes later and took a 94-83 lead into the fourth.
–Field level media
