The Atlanta Hawks will continue to search for their identity and end a three-game losing streak on Wednesday when they host the Brooklyn Nets in the second half of a back-to-back.
The Hawks blew a 20-point lead to the Indiana Pacers and lost 157-152 on Tuesday night, even though they set a franchise record with 86 points in the first half. Atlanta has lost four straight at home and has been eliminated from the NBA in-season tournament.
The Nets have dropped two straight and are coming off a 121-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
This will be the first of three meetings between the clubs this season. The Nets won three of the four contests last season, with Atlanta's lone victory coming on Trae Young's buzzer-beater.
"There isn't one thing you can hang your hat on," Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. "We look to execute and work on the things that have hurt us and do it while we're playing games. We've got to bounce back starting (Wednesday) night."
A good sign on Tuesday was the offensive effort of Young, who arrived at the arena early to work on his perimeter shot. Young scored 38 points, his second-most points scored this season, and was 5-for-8 on 3-pointers. Young entered the game shooting only 28.2 percent on treys.
"It rings hollow when you lose a game that was this competitive," Snyder said. "But I do feel like we're trying to improve all the time."
Young has also made a concerted effort to improve his defense. On Tuesday, he drew a charge and had three steals.
"It's been the same the whole year," Snyder said. "He's been good off the ball, he's been good on the ball, he's competed. Someone should talk about it. When you talk about Trae, you talk about what a great offensive game he had — and he did — but he's defending, and that's good to see. That's what we have to have."
Brooklyn's Mikal Bridges averages 20.3 points, along with 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Bridges averaged 29.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in three games against Atlanta last season. He scored 42 against the Hawks on March 31, 2023.
The Nets got a season-high 26 points from reserve Lonnie Walker IV in the loss to Philadelphia. But Walker said the effort was negated by the loss.
"I don't think the points truly translated if we lost by 20-plus points," Walker said. "I was feeling it. I was within the groove of the game, but we lost."
The Nets must guard against another late run like they did against the Sixers just before the half.
"Teams are doing different things to us at the end of quarters to disrupt us, so you have to have a poise about you," Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. "We're still searching for that. We'll continue to work on that and get better, but you see how those momentum plays make a difference, especially at the end of quarters."
After Wednesday's game, the Nets return home to begin a five-game homestand against Miami on Saturday. The Hawks begin a five-game road trip at Washington on Saturday.
—Field Level Media