ATLANTA _ After failing to show their trademark grit two days earlier in Brooklyn, where they gave the Hawks a free pass to the rim, the Nets discovered their defensive backbone and regained their aggressiveness going to the basket to gain a measure of revenge in a 110-90 victory Monday night at Philips Arena. The Hawks managed only a 9 of 38 shooting performance in the second half.
The key for the Nets was great second-half defense. They held the Hawks scoreless for 5:43 at the start of the third quarter and for 2:18 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Nets took control with a 17-0 run in that first scoreless span, and they put together a 12-0 run from the end of the third period into the fourth quarter that featured four slam dunks by rookie center Jarrett Allen on feeds from Caris LeVert for a 90-69 lead.
LeVert led the Nets (9-14) with 17 points and seven assists, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 16 points and nine rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie added 13 points and six assists and they got 13 points from DeMarre Carroll and 11 each from Allen and Joe Harris. The Nets shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range (15-36).
Dennis Schroder topped the Hawks (5-18) with 19 points, but after making his first seven shots of the game, Schroder went 2-for-10 the rest of the way. Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Bembry each had 13 points, In contrast to Saturday's game, the Nets owned the paint by a 40-30 margin.
On Saturday, the Nets were embarrassed defensively in a 114-102 loss to the Hawks, who dominated points in the paint, 54-28. The star in that game for the Hawks was point guard Schroder, who had 24 points and shot 11-for-24 as he drove relentlessly into the paint for layups and mid-range jumpers.
"We've just got to do a better job," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said before the game. "It starts with individual defense. Can we line our guy up and can we sit down and defend him?
"Him playing with the German national team has given him a lot of valuable experience. He's the man with the German national team. He's [the Hawks'] No. 1 option. He took 24 shots against us last game. He's the head of the snake as far as we're concerned."
The Nets were snakebitten again by Schroder in the first half Monday. He scored 17 points in the half as the Hawks gained a 54-53 edge, including a 24-12 margin in paint points.
The Nets kept pace with 10 of 22 shooting from three-point range, but after building a six-point lead late in the first quarter, they allowed the Hawks to go on an extended 21-8 run, including six points from Schroder to take a 48-41 lead. The 17-0 burst to start the third quarter quickly restored control to the Nets at 70-54. Caroll hit a pair of 3s in that stretch, but the Key was how the Nets drove to the basket for 10 points in that span.
The Nets' momentum was slowed in the third when they committed six turnovers in 13 possessions. An 8-0 burst by the Hawks cut their deficit to single digits, but the Nets scored the final six points for a third-quarter lead of 84-69, including two authoritative dunks by Allen as the Nets had 16 points in the paint in the period.
As the fourth quarter opened, LeVert continued to look inside for Allen, who threw down two more dunks to extend the Nets' run to 12-0 and push their lead to 21 at 90-69. From there, it was a matter of the Nets slamming the door shut to gain payback against the Hawks.
