The Brooklyn Nets were on the verge of falling down 3-0 against the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks on Saturday afternoon before pulling off an eight-point win to pull to within 2-1 in the series.
The Nets continued their momentum Monday night by taking their second consecutive game against Mike Budenholzer and company.
Deron Williams matches his career playoff high with 35 points to help Nets tie series vs Hawks, 2-2. pic.twitter.com/Os9Kn7ZBYH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2015
Propelled by Deron Williams’ return from the Cryogenics lab, the Nets are now even with Atlanta at two games a piece. Williams put up 35 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including a whopping 7-of-11 from beyond the three-point line. It was a huge performance from a former All-Star who had struggled big time up to this point in the series. Brook Lopez added 26 points and 10 boards in the 120-115 overtime victory.
For the Hawks, this has to be incredibly disappointing. They were expecting to ride the momentum of two consecutive home wins to a four-game sweep. However, the squad simply hasn’t played up to its regular season level over the past two games. They turned the ball over 16 times and allowed the Nets to shoot 45 percent from three-point range in Game 4.
With the series now slated to go back to Atlanta for Game 5 on Wednesday, the Hawks have the ability to regain the momentum they lost in Brooklyn. But it’s not going to be an easy series for a team that expected a quick first-round playoff series.
Photo: USA Today Sports