Trae Young Outduels Mikal Bridges In Atlanta As Hawks Win 147-145 Over the Nets

Atlanta snapped their three-game losing streak tonight in their win over the Nets

The Hawks were losers of their last three games and five of their last seven coming into tonight's game vs the Nets and Atlanta needed a win. They were about to embark on a road trip and play some tough teams. 

The Nets came into this game 6-6 but did have the benefit of rest coming into this game, as Atlanta played in a wild game against the Pacers last night and lost 157-152. 

Going into the game, Dejounte Muray was questionable, but was made available and he started the game. Atlanta closed as four-point favorites in the game

It was the usual starters for the Hawks' tonight. Trae Young, Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela started and for Brooklyn, Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Nic Claxton were the starters. 

The defensive issues continued for the Hawks in the early going of this game. 

At the 7:00 minute mark, Brooklyn had hit five of their first six threes, including a pair of corner threes from Johnson and a crazy buzzer-beater from Dinwiddie. The Nets led 20-15. 

One good sign was that Trae had picked up where he had left off from last night. After a 38-point, eight-assist night, he had seven early points for the Hawks and looked comfortable shooting the ball. 

Trae Young had a solid first quarter vs the Nets / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sport

After the timeout, Bogdan Bogdanovic was the only sub and Atlanta got a three from Hunter and then Bogdanovic to force a quick timeout. 

Saddiq Bey and Onyeka Okongwu would sub in next and after missing last night's game with an illness, AJ Griffin also got some minutes. 

It was a great first quarter for the Hawks. They tightened up their defense and their offense could not miss. Atlanta shot 62% from the field and 60% from three. Trae Young had 19 points and was 6-7 from the field. It was a great start for the star point guard and he was starting to look like he had turned a corner after a rough start to the season. 

Brooklyn shot 42% from the field and from three. Mikal Bridges had nine points. 

Atlanta led 45-33 after the first. 

19-POINT FIRST QUARTER FOR TRAE YOUNG 🥶#HawksHighlight pic.twitter.com/YE4SjajBpg

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) November 23, 2023

The Hawks would extend their lead to as many as 15 in the second quarter, but the Nets kept fighting back. Quin Snyder called a timeout with 8:01 left in the first half and the Hawks's lead had been cut to six. 

The Hawks led the Nets at the half 77-67. Atlanta was shooting 50% from the field and 48% from three. Young had 19 points, Hunter had 12, and Murray 10. 

Brooklyn outscored the Hawks 34-32 in the second quarter. Brooklyn was shooting 44% from the field and 39% from three. Bridges had 15 points, Dinwiddie 13, and Johnson had 11. 

However, Atlanta blew a big lead last night and was looking to finish strong against the Nets before they headed to Thanksgiving. 

It was looking like the Hawks had not learned their lesson when the third quarter started. 

Brooklyn started the quarter on a 9-4 run and Snyder needed a timeout with 9:21 left. Bridges and Claxton scored all nine points to start the quarter for the Nets. 

It was the kind of quarter that Atlanta has played too many times in recent games after being a strong third-quarter team at the beginning of the season. The offense went quiet and that allowed the Nets to claw back in the game. Brooklyn took back the lead 93-92 with 2:30 to go in the quarter and was outscoring Atlanta 26-15. 

Atlanta would get the lead back going into the fourth quarter and led by five 100-95. The Hawks shot a poor 37% from the field in the quarter and were 1-8 from three. 

It was a close back and forth quarter and it was going to come down to which team could execute better in the final 2:40. Atlanta had a 123-122 lead, but it did not feel safe, especially the way Bridges was playing. 

After a pair of free throws from Young, Bridges missed a shot, but Claxton was there to put it back. Young then hit deep three, but the Nets would keep battling and a three from Dinwiddie gave them the lead. 

Dejounte Murray hit a jumper to give the Hawks back the lead with 1:16 left and it was 130-129. Bridges missed a shot on the other end and it gave the Hawks a chance to ice the game away. However, Young missed a pair of shots and Brooklyn got the rebound and called a timeout with 11.5 seconds left. 

Mikal Bridges had a great night against the Hawks / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Bridges would take the ball with Murray guarding him and he missed his layup attempt, but Cam Johnson was there for the putback with 3.3 seconds remaining and the Nets had a one-point lead. It was interesting because Capela came off the floor and the Hawks went small on the possession and that allowed Johnson to tip the ball in. 

It would come down to the final possession for the Hawks. Atlanta would inbound the ball to Young and he would draw the foul with 1.0 second left. Brooklyn was over the limit and Young could potentially win the game. 

He would miss the first and the tension in the arena immediately went up. 

Young nailed the second to tie the game, but Brooklyn would have a shot to win the game with one second left. Snyder subbed out Young for Bey on the last defensive possession, a decision I am not sure made a lot of sense

Bridges would miss the jumper and it was overtime in Atlanta. 

Atlanta would race out to a 138-133 lead in the overtime period, but a three from Bridges and an and one from Dinwiddie let the Nets grab the lead with under two minutes left. Young would hit a pair of free throws to get the lead back, but once again, Bridges scored and with less than a minute left, Brooklyn had the lead. 

The same sequence of events would unfold. Young went down the court to get a bucket but was answered by Bridges, who was up to 43 points for the night. Atlanta had the ball with 26.3 seconds left and were trailing 143-142. 

Guess what happened next. 

Out of the timeout, Atlanta got the ball to Young and he did what he is capable of. He nailed the shot and retook the lead. 

On the other end, Onyeka Okonwu got a massive block and then it was time for the Nets to start fouling. Young nailed both free throws and Atlanta led 146-143 with 6.7 seconds left in the game. 

🚫NYEKA 🚫KONGWU pic.twitter.com/im0ysCBxZH

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) November 23, 2023

Atlanta would be called for a questionable foul and they were over the limit. They sent Bridges to the line, where he would hit both shots to cut it back to a one-point game with 3.9 seconds remaining. 

Young was fouled again and he went to the line. As great of a game as he played, he missed clutch free throws and he split the pair. Atlanta would lead 147-145 with 2.2 seconds left and Brooklyn had a possession where the could tie or win the whole game. 

Lonnie Walker would miss the shot as the buzzer sounded and the Hawks would escape with a win over Brooklyn. 

Let's eat pic.twitter.com/jTrwNIsShA

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 23, 2023

Atlanta shot 44% in this game and 37% from three. Young would finish with 45 points and nine assists and Hunter had a great bounce back game and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds. 

Brooklyn shot 49% from the floor and 43% from three. Bridges had 45 points and 10 rebounds, while Johnson, Claxton, and Dinwiddie all scored at least 22 points. 

Atlanta is back in action this Saturday against the Wizards. 

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