NEW YORK _ The opportunity was a big one. The effort the Nets met it with was small.
Brooklyn had a chance to pick a up a third win in four games and maybe begin an assault on the .500 mark when it faced an Atlanta team Saturday that had only four wins on its ledger. Instead it played like a team with no momentum. The Nets trailed for all of the last three quarters and though they cut the Hawks lead to two points with 8:13 left in the game, they ultimately fell, 114-102 before 13,949 at Barclays Center.
"I thought they dominated us in every area," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "They were the more aggressive team. They were the quicker team ... They really took it to us.
"We could not keep them in front of us ... That was the story of the game: we couldn't guard them."
Even before tip-off, Atkinson expressed concern about whether returning to the comforts of home would rob the Nets of the intensity they showed in winning twice on a three-game road trip. He said that after a good road trip "that first home game is a real test for your energy level, your readiness, your mental focus." And sure enough, his concerns were not unfounded.
"They came out and basically kicked our butt," said DeMarre Carroll, who made just three of 12 shots. "We didn't have any energy. We came out lackadaisical and we knew coming off a three-game road trip this tends to happen. We didn't do what we were supposed to do."
Atkinson said that a big part of the Nets' game plan was to drive to the basket and take advantage of a Hawks team that was playing without three big men: 7-foot Dwayne Dedmon, 6-11 John Collins and 6-10 Mike Muscala. But they didn't score a point in the paint until Spencer Dinwiddie's layup with 6:13 before halftime.
"We're a driving team _ we drive it and get to the free throw line. It's kind of our identity," Atkinson said. "For some reason we were not driving the ball like we needed to."
Dinwiddie finished with 15 points and nine assists, Joe Harris scored 13 points and Allen Crabbe, Jarrett Allen and Sean Kilpatrick each added 12 points for the Nets (8-14), who matched a season-high with 17 3-pointers. A surprisingly sloppy Caris LeVert had four turnovers and was minus-24 in 25 minutes on the floor.
Dennis Schroder scored 24 and Luke Babbitt 20 for Atlanta (5-17).
Despite all that Brooklyn struggled with in the game, it mounted a fourth-quarter charge. Allen had six points in a 13-6 run at the start of the quarter and scored on a pick-and-roll with Harris to close the gap to 90-88 with 8:13 to play.
Atlanta answered with an 18-3 run over the next 4:19. During it, the Nets were 1-for-5 shooting with three turnovers while the Hawks made seven of nine shots.
"We couldn't really guard them," Atkinson said of the quick unravelling. "We turned it over too much. It's a recipe for disaster."
The Nets don't have to wait long for the chance to redeem themselves. They meet the Hawks in Atlanta Monday and will treat it like a big game.
"Every game for us is important because we are fighting and scratching and clawing to be legitimate and earn the respect of everyone around the league _ other teams, other coaches, the refs, everything," Dinwiddie said. "In the fight to earn respect, every game is life and death."
