BROOKLYN NETS

The Brooklyn Nets have temporarily stabilized after the scary three-game skid that saw them playing depressing basketball. Now they are looking to reclaim the sixth seed from the Detroit Pistons. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks have been basking in the glory of their two young studs in Trae Young and John Collins. Tonight, though, Brooklyn’s young stars were able to walk away victorious.

This game started out much better than the previous contest which saw the Nets fall behind by double-digits in the first quarter. Brooklyn was absolutely terrible from every spot on the floor, shooting 37/27/65 splits as a team. They still carried a lead into the second half mostly due to passionate play from Jarrett Allen.

The Fro set the tone early with his powerful paint presence and refusal to back down when confronted by Atlanta’s bigs. Great bench contributions from Spencer Dinwiddie and DeMarre Carroll helped to compensate for the poor shooting of the starting wings.

The Nets were never able to cultivate a large lead as the Hawks continued to battle in the second half. The saving grace was the fact that Atlanta also had a terrible shooting night, hitting less than 20 percent of their threes. This game was extremely slow with the two teams combining for 86 free throw attempts. However, the score was always so tight that neither fanbase felt comfortable enough to look away.

The game would have been a blowout if Brooklyn had been able to hit more than 60.4 percent of their free throws. That being said, these are the types of games that are absolutely crucial victories as the playoff hunt heats up. It was undeniably ugly, but a win is a win.