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Talk about a comeback.

Jalen Johnson scored 30 points in his return from an ankle injury and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Brooklyn Nets124-121 on Saturday, Nov. 7 at State Farm Arena. The Hawks were down by as many as 17 points in the first quarter.

Johnson, 24, had 12 points points in the fourth quarter to bring his team back on top for good. With 39 seconds left in the game, he raced past Julius Randle and drove to the basket to toss in a floater. He was fouled and made the free throw to help secure the victory. The forward also had seven rebounds and six assists.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Aaron Wiggins added 20 points for Atlanta in the Hawks' fourth straight win. Michael Porter Jr. had 25 points for Brooklyn.

SCORE THE LATE-GAME AND-1.

RECORD 30 POINTS IN ATL'S 4TH STRAIGHT W.

JALEN. JOHNSON. 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/YFpbD0QyR4

— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2026

Johnson hadn't played in a week, missing three games after spraining his left ankle in the Hawks' loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Halloween.

The day of the Nets matchup, he was listed as probable on the injury report and then was upgraded to available shortly before tipoff.

The Hawks took Johnson as the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He earned his first All-Star nod last season when he 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game.

He is averaging 18.3 points, 9.0 boards and 7.9 assists this season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hawks' Jalen Johnson scores 30 in comeback from injury

CLEVELAND — It felt like early November on the streets of Northeast Ohio. Inside Rocket Arena, it looked like late May.

Jalen Brunson was untouchable. Karl-Anthony Towns was unstoppable. Analytics were unnecessary. The eye test was enough for anyone to determine the best team on the floor.

The Knicks extended their dominance over the Cavaliers in their first meeting since their Eastern Conference finals sweep, earning their first three-game winning streak of the season with a 109-97 win Saturday night.

After becoming the first defending champion in 15 years to drop its first three games of the season, the Knicks (5-4) are now over .500 for the first time this season.

“Going into the season … one of my concerns was, ‘Are we gonna attack this season the way we should?’ and obviously we didn’t,” head coach Mike Brown said. “That’s why we got knocked in the head, and I was OK with it because right now is the time to get knocked in the head. If you have championship pedigree — which that group does have — it’s going to wake you up, and it’s going to make you realize that nobody’s going to give anything to us, and it’s harder than what we think.

“When you win games, you’re human, it’s easy to start letting go of the rope because you just start to relax, especially over an 82-game season. And now the challenge for us is, can we hold on to the rope and keep climbing a little higher?”

Brunson initially struggled in his return to the floor where the Knicks clinched their first NBA Finals berth in 27 years, but eventually resembled the Finals MVP, finishing with 31 points (12-for-25 shooting, including 3-for-7 on 3-pointers), nine assists and six rebounds.

Towns had 29 points, 13 rebounds and two steals.

The Cavaliers (5-5), coming off an impressive win over the 76ers the previous night, ended their back-to-back home set looking as far from contention as the team that lost the final three games of the conference finals by a combined 66 points. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 37 points.

“We found a little bit of that magic and that pace of that team that was so magical in last year’s run,” Towns said. “Just fortunate that we were able to do something special tonight.”

The foul-prone Towns was whistled on a call 22 seconds into the game, but he remained aggressive, overpowering the Cavs for 14 points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

Brown searched for other answers — throwing out 11 players as the Knicks fell behind by six and missed 16 of their first 19 3-pointers — but the coach just needed the man most responsible for ending the franchise’s 53-year title drought.

Brunson made his return visit to Cleveland look like an extension of the Eastern Conference finals, scoring 18 straight points in the second quarter to swing momentum, as the Knicks went to halftime with a 63-53 lead.

“He’s getting rhythm, but it’s one of those things that you know you don’t worry about a guy like him,” Brown said of Brunson. “You don’t worry about a guy like KAT because they’re gonna find their way sooner than later. And he and KAT are both more than capable of doing what they did tonight.”

Landry Shamet hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third quarter to give the Knicks an 88-69 lead, quieting all but the countless blue-and-orange fans in the crowd.

With James Harden invisible again — scoring seven points on 2-for-9 shooting — Mitchell tried to will the Cavs back in it by scoring 22 of the team’s first 26 fourth-quarter points, bringing Cleveland within eight with under two minutes remaining.

But it was too late.

The champs had spoken.

“I think we’re in a good place,” Brunson said. “Obviously, bounced back from our start, but just going to try to do our best to not be complacent. Continue to get better every single day. Just because we’ve been winning a couple games doesn’t mean like we’re just we’re back to who we are. We are going to continue to work. That’s just our emphasis right now.”

The Cavaliers (5-5) beat the Sixers at the Rocket Arena yesterday, so maybe you can blame their sulfurous, rotten-egg performance tonight on fatigue. In their first return to Ohio since sweeping the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks (5-4) picked up right where they left off. After piling on a 19-point lead in the third, our heroes let Donovan Mitchell (37 PTS, 13-22 FG) close the gap in the fourth, but he was outdueled yet again by Jalen Bruson (31 PTS, 12-25 FG), Karl-Anthony Towns (29 PTS, 13 RBS) was too strong, and the Knicks closed the door, 109-97.

Not only did our heroes knock off a rival, they played lock-down defense again. We share RJParrot’s enthusiasm: “ANOTHER GAME HOLDING THE BAD GUYS UNDER 100.”

Evan Mobley went right at Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded his first foul with less than thirty seconds gone. Savvy strategy, Kenny Atkinson, but it wouldn’t work tonight. After that foul, Towns did a good job of avoiding his second infraction for the rest of the half while still playing aggressively and collecting 18 points on 12 shots. He finished the game with two fouls. KAT’s not just hungry for that second ring; I think he’s gunning for MVP.

Josh Hart is still mending a sore ankle, so Landry Shamet started for him again. Shamet has proven to be an offensive weapon, but he attempted two shots in his 13 first-half minutes.

The Cavs had three rotation players on their injury report. With Jarrett Allen out, Meleek Thomas, the 34th pick in this year’s draft, made his second start. The 20-year-old neophyte (9 PTS, 3-10 FG, 24 MIN) drilled back-to-back bombs to give his squad a 16-14 lead with five minutes left. Mike Brown used a timeout to regroup his squad and sub in Mohamed Diawara (2 PTS, 3 RBS, +16, 14 MIN) and Andre Drummond (8 RBS, 14 MIN). Soon after, Dalton Knecht (5 MIN) made his second appearance for the Knicks—and blundered by fouling Mitchell for what became a four-point play.

OAKAAKUYOAK Mario Hezonja is back in the league! He played nine minutes off the bench in the first half for the Ohio Players, scoring zero on two shots. Starter Peyton Watson (who was rumored to have a sore hammy) took six of Cleveland’s first 13 shots, while Mobley had attempted none, Donovan Mitchell one, and James Harden two.

At the other end, Mike Brown was featuring Jalen Brunson and Towns. The latter made all four freebies at the line, while the former missed five of his first six shots. A slow start for Detective Madison, but stick around for sparks. Tyler Kolek also checked in to play alongside Knecht, Shamet, Anunoby, and Towns for the final two minutes. The Knicks were trailing by four, so the move was a vote of confidence by the coach.

With Towns and Anunoby smashing to the rim, the visitors were able to close the gap. The Knicks missed eight three-pointers in the opening frame, were outrebounded by three, and attempted half as many free throws as the Cavs, but nonetheless trailed by a single point at the break, 27-26. Math!

New York’s awful long-range shooting persisted as they missed their first eight attempts of the second quarter. Mikal Bridges (9 PTS, 4-13 FG), in particular, had another woeful offensive half (during which he shot 0-5 from deep), but he redeemed himself with a few fine defensive efforts. Loved when he made the Beard look silly on a drive.

The ink still wet on his contract, Riley Minix provided eight points on 3-of-3 shooting off the bench tonight.

The scoreboard tilted back and forth. New York’s shooting improved. Thomas checked back in for the hosts, and he drilled his third triple in Diawara’s grill. The sophomore was +12 in the half, though, thanks to sharing the floor with Brunson, Jordan Clarkson, Bridges, and Drummond. Cap was cooking. He scored 18 straight Knicks points, outscoring the Cavs by seven himself and giving New York a 52–47 lead.

From there, McBride canned a jumper, Shamet drilled a dinger, and Anunoby hit consecutive triples to give the good guys a 63-53 advantage.

Through the half, both teams shot 44%, but the Knicks got 13 more shots, thanks to ten offensive boards. They also committed just three turnovers to the Cavs’ eight and won the points-off-turnovers battle 12-2. The home team shot 46% from deep to New York’s 32% and still trailed. Brunson topped the box score with 20 so far, while Spida led the Cavs with 11.

Cleveland opened the third with four straight points, both baskets set up by Donovan Mitchell, to cut the Knicks’ lead to 63–57. Jalen Brunson then found Mikal Bridges for a three, bringing him to 9-34 from deep this season. Karl-Anthony Towns cut for a layup to stretch the lead back to 12.

Evan Mobley kept Cleveland close with six points in the opening five minutes, including back-to-back buckets off James Harden feeds. Tyrese Proctor’s step-back three made it 72–65 after a Knicks possession that produced three misses, three offensive rebounds, and a shot-clock violation.

Brunson took over from there. He scored six straight on a floater, a running layup, and a fadeaway, then found Landry Shamet for a three to cap a 9–0 run. Mitchell broke it with a layup, but Brunson fed Mohamed Diawara for one of his own, sending Cleveland to timeout down 83–67. Very encouraging signs from Mo!

Towns chipped in four points, including a putback after Peyton Watson blocked his dunk attempt. OG Anunoby (15 PTS, 4-13 FG) had a block and two boards but missed all four of his shots and scored only at the line. Harden’s two assists to Mobley helped briefly, but he went scoreless in the stretch. When Shamet swished his third triple of the night, New York’s advantage was 19.

With the Knicks playing clean defense and the Cavs running on fumes, a 25-17 third quarter gave our heroes an 88-70 lead heading into the fourth.

The road got bumpy at the outset of the final frame. Kolek acquired his fourth foul; Shamet, Towns, and Anunoby missed multiple shots; and Mitchell and Mobley paired for eight points. Kolek’s been a reliable floor general to head the second unit, but his shooting this season stands at 5-of-19 after tonight’s 0-for-2. Seeing the need for heroics, Towns supplied them while Brunson sat. Smashing the boards and exploiting the false wall of Cleveland’s frontcourt, he reached 29 points, logged his ninth double-double of the season, and scored five straight to restore a 15-point lead.

KAT sat at the middle mark. From there Cap and Spida traded blows. The latter scored Cleveland’s next eight points, and with the score at 102-92, Mike Brown signaled for timeout with 3:15 remaining. Not ready to release his guys yet, Atkinson called for a timeout, too. Time for another Novig commercial.

Out of the break, Brunson and Mitchell traded contested jumpers. KAT was back, but Mobley boxed him out on a Brunson miss. Watson somehow corraled a slippery ball for a layup. Eight-point lead with 1:53 left.

The struggling Bridges came up with a clutch bucket. Shamet fouled Spida, who made one, missed one. Shamet missed from deep, but this time KAT got the board and pitched it to Cap, who was fouled. Just like Donovan, Jalen missed his first freebie. Mitchell tried a rushed trey with Shamet covering, which rimmed out. Anunoby grabbed the board; Spida swatted it out of bounds and got Kenny to contest it. Not only was the call confirmed, but a foul on the Cav was added to it. Insult to injury, you say? Indeed. Sweet victory!

Up Next

Our heroes get two nights off before hosting the Bucks on Tuesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

ATLANTA — The Nets have gone from suffering beatings to suffering heartbreakers.

From getting blown out to blowing late leads.

The Nets led almost all night here except when it mattered most, at the end. They committed a 124-121 collapse before a crowd of 16,117 at State Farm Arena on Saturday.

After looking in terrible disarray while dropping their first five games, the Nets (2-7) have split the past four. But those two defeats will stick in their collective craw.

They blew a fourth-quarter lead in the Garden to the reigning champion Knicks. And Saturday, they squandered a 17-point cushion and had a 114-110 edge with 1:45 to play before allowing 10 unanswered points that cost them the game.

“We were not consistent enough to do the right things. And it’s not about making shots, it’s about trying to do the right things. Obviously, the points off turnovers, this is a team that will pressure you, and we had 22 turnovers for 28 points. That’s not acceptable. That’s where you lose the game,” Nets coach Jordi Fernández said.

“Our effort was not great. We didn’t do a lot of things. We didn’t pay attention to details. Offensively, a lot of random stuff. So I guess we were just not really focused anymore,” Nolan Traore said.

“We had great looks in the first half, but in the second half, we played more random stuff, so we didn’t have the same quality shots. So that might be the main thing. I don’t think Atlanta did something that disturbed us, it was more just us doing random stuff.”

There was a lot to unpack in this one.

Jalen Johnson poured in a game-high 30 points for the Hawks, who stormed back. But it was the Nets’ own mistakes that let them.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Day’Ron Sharpe had a triple-double (12 points, 13 assists, 10 boards).

Young point guards Traore and Mikel Brown Jr. both played well. The former had 19 points, four steals and finished a team-best plus-9, but the problem was when he finished. He had nine points in the first quarter, but never got off the bench in the fourth.

Brown scored 13 of his 18 points in the final period, but was a minus-10.

“Mikel had those five straight points, and I just let him roll because you cannot just keep taking them in and out,” Fernández said when asked why he sat Traore. “When I was about to sub Nolan in, Mikel made two or three 3s and a midrange pullup. So I thought that was the right thing to do. Was it right? I don’t know.”

Fernández said the fact Brown was already slated to sit out Sunday’s game in Dallas had nothing to do with the decision. He was just riding the hot hand.

Traore stormed out of the blocks with seven quick points to spot the Nets a 12-2 lead. And the bench helped pad it to 31-14 when Brown found Noah Clowney for a 3 with 3:57 left in the first quarter.

But shaky rebounding let the Hawks get on the offensive glass and cut that to 70-66 by the break.

It was still four at 114-110 after a Brown 3.

But that’s when they allowed a 10-0 run to blow it.

Sharpe’s turnover handed Onyeka Okongwu a 3, and after he missed a drive, Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s free throw with 1:26 left put Atlanta up for good at 115-114.

When Porter missed a 3-pointer, Alexander-Walker raced for a loose ball and a breakaway layup. Both Sharpe and Julius Randle failed to corral rebounds and let the Hawks get second chances they cashed in on.

Johnson’s and-one capped the 10-0 run with 38 seconds left and essentially ended it.

“They just started hitting shots down the stretch,” Brown said. “Offensive rebounds, they were killing us all game. That was really the problem.”

Well, that one will sting.

For nearly 47 minutes, the Brooklyn Nets controlled the game against the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night in Georgia. After building a 17-point lead in the first quarter — it wasn’t always pretty — but the Nets didn’t trail until the final two minutes.

However, they couldn’t put it away when it mattered most and fell to Atlanta, 124-121. There were some positives, most notably Nolan Traore’s fast start and the late-game heroics from Mikel Brown Jr. as well as Day’Ron Sharpe’s first triple-double. All of that kept them in the game but ultimately, none of it changes the result, and Brooklyn is now 2-7, still struggling to close out matchups down the stretch.

Brooklyn couldn’t have asked for a much better start. They came out firing, putting up 37 first-quarter points to take a 37-27 lead. The Nets shot 73.7% from the field (14-of-19), including 6-of-10 from three, led by the fast-rising French point guard…

The ball movement was also on full display early, dishing out 11 assists on 14 made baskets. Eight different players found the scoring column, with the Nets building a lead as large as 17 before Atlanta started to chip away at the end of the frame.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy for the rest of the game. By the end of the first, you could already feel Atlanta gaining some ground after an ugly first few minutes. In the second quarter, they trimmed their deficit to just four, at 70-66 entering the break. Turnovers became a big issue for the Nets, allowing the Hawks to stay in the game.

The Nets committed 11 turnovers in the first half, which gave the Hawks 15 points. As Jordi Fernandez noted post-game, it was a game long issue.

“We were not consistent enough to do the right things,” said the head coach And it’s not about making shots. It’s about, you know, trying to do the right things. Obviously, the points off turnovers, like I said before, this is a team that you know will pressure you. And we had 22 turnovers for 28 points. And that’s not acceptable. That’s where you lose the game.”

Brooklyn also got dominated in the paint, allowing a whopping 42 points on the inside compared to their 22. Atlanta put up 39 paint points in the second quarter alone.

Despite the turnovers, the Nets still scored at a high level. Michael Porter Jr. had 18 in the first half, while Nolan Traoré continued his excellent start to the season with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Day’Ron Sharpe also thrived as a facilitator, logging eight assists in the first half. He had set a career high with eight assists on Wednesday, and that number rose to 13 on Saturday, when he also came away with his first triple-double, logging 12 points and 10 rebounds. All positive, but…

The crazy part is that the Nets shot 65.7% from the field and 50% from three in the first half, yet still had just a four-point lead. When you turn the. ball over that many times, that’s what happens.

The Nets started to settle things down coming out of the locker room, though. They won the third quarter, 25-22, to take a 95-88 lead heading into the final frame. While the same level of offensive efficiency wasn’t there, Brooklyn’s defense became more consistent and prevented the Hawks from carrying their momentum into the second half.

The turnover issues remained prevalent for the Nets, as the total reached 16 through three quarters. However, they limited the damage on the defensive end. Fernández clearly made adjustments coming out of halftime, and those adjustments played a key role in Brooklyn retaining their lead.

Despite struggling offensively through the first three quarters and missing his first seven shots, Mikel Brown Jr. came up clutch in the fourth quarter with three huge shots from deep. After entering the final quarter with just five points, he finished with 18.

However, Fernandez decided against playing his two 20-year-olds together. While Brown Jr. was leading the charge, Traore sat on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. Was it defense or does the head coach have a problem playing the two together? Fernandez admitted he went with the hot hand — Brown Jr. — rather than play his two 20-year-olds together.

“I thought that Mikel had those five straight points, and I just let him roll. Because you cannot just keep taking them in and out.” he argued. “So I thought that that was the right thing to do. Was it right? I don’t know.”

No matter what the young Nets couldn’t finish.

While the game was back-and-forth throughout, the Nets didn’t give up their first lead until there was 1:26 left in the fourth quarter. The game hadn’t even been tied; Brooklyn led the entire time until then. After that, though, the Nets failed to score another point and fell 124-121. The Hawks, led by Jalen Johnson, closed the game with a 14-7 run.

Fernandez said that with such a young team, it’s a work in progress.

“I’m happy with what I’m seeing and the commitment and playing hard, and now the communication is way better,” he said. “It seems more like a connected group. We’re rebounding better, especially defensively. So, all those things are important. And it’s a testament to the work that the guys put in, the coaches, and getting one percent better every day.”

Saturday was a disappointing loss for the Nets. Going from up 17 and not down once to losing in the final two minutes is rough, and yet another example that Brooklyn’s young core is still developing and learning how to win games. The turnovers also continued to hurt them, as they committed six more in the final frame.

The encouraging element, of course, is Brown Jr.’s strong play, especially down the stretch. It’s the second time he’s really risen to the occasion in big moments, with last week’s loss to the Boston Celtics as another example before his rookie blunder cost them in overtime.

Final Score: Atlanta Hawks, 124, Brooklyn Nets, 121.

Milestone Watch

It was a big night for Day’Ron Sharpe. The 6’10” 25-year-old recorded his first career triple-double and the first triple-double ever by a Nets center. Sharpe finished with 12 points, 1o rebounds and 13 assists, the final figure also a record for Nets 5. It was also the Nets first triple-double in nearly a year. Nic Claxton who Sharpe replaced in the starting line up this season had a game of 14 points, 1o rebounds and 10 assists last December.

Next Up

The Nets will have a quick turnaround, heading to Dallas on Sunday to face the Mavericks in the second leg of their back-to-back. Dallas enters the matchup at 5-4, coming off a 112-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.

After letting a golden opportunity slip away against Atlanta, the Nets will look to get back in the win column on Sunday. The question becomes: can Brooklyn put together a complete 48-minute performance to secure the victory? That’s what they’ve struggled to do most consistently this season.

• Boxscore: Atlanta Hawks, 124, Brooklyn Nets 121 – NBA.com
• Game Highlights: Atlanta Hawks 124, Brooklyn Nets 121 (Video) – NBA.com
• Jalen Johnson TOOK OVER with 30 PTS vs Nets (Video) – NBA.com
• Jordi Fernández on the Nets’ 124-121 loss in Atlanta (Video) – YES Network
• Mikel Brown Jr. scores 18 off the bench in Atlanta (Video) – YES Network
• Nolan Traore reflects on the 124-121 loss in Atlanta (Video) – YES Network
• Day’Ron Sharpe records a triple-double vs. ATL (Video) – YES Network
• Jalen Johnson makes strong return with 30 points for Hawks in win over Nets after missing 3 games – Charles Odum – AP
• Nets collapse late to fall against Hawks in latest heartbreaking loss – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets squander 17-point lead in 124-121 loss to Hawks despite Day’Ron Sharpe’s historic night ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Now The Nets Are Getting Outcoached Too? – Steve Lichtenstein – Steve’s Newsletter

…and that … was an ugly one.

The Washington Wizards lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-75 on Saturday night at the Paycom Center. The Wizards are now 4-6 while the Thunder improve to 8-2.

Washington finished the first quarter down 25-19 shooting under 30 percent in the period. That was the warning sign and it persisted through the rest of the first half. The Wizards were down 57-36 at the end of the first half and … yeah. They shot just 28.8 percent for the half while the Thunder shot 50 percent.

If Alex Sarr didn’t have a double double in the first half with 13 points and 11 rebounds, there wouldn’t be much to root for. It also didn’t help that Anthony Davis missed his second straight game due to an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the week.

After the third quarter, Washington was down 90-59, so let’s just say that by then, I decided to start writing the recap. The Wizards ended up shooting under 30 percent from the field, and 7-of-43 from the three point line. It was ugly.

AJ Dybantsa led the Wizards with 19 points overall, while Sarr finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Trae Young only scored 4 points on 1-of-6 shooting.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led with 30 points.

The Wizards’ next game is against the Detroit Pistons on the road Monday. Tip off is at 7 p.m. ET. See you then.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the New York Knicks 109-97. Donovan Mitchell finished with a season-high 37 points.

The Cavs started strong for the second night in a row, showing active hands defensively in the first quarter to force three Knicks turnovers. They also held the Knicks to just 3-of-11 three-point shooting in the opening quarter.

Karl-Anthony Towns kept New York attached. He scored 14 points in the first quarter while throwing down a pair of thunderous dunks. This was a much more difficult matchup for Mobley than the previous night, when he held Joel Embiid to 0-of-9 shooting.

A Knicks run led by Jalen Brunson put New York back in front going into halftime. Brunson hit tough shots en route to 16 points in a five-minute stretch. He finished the first half with 20 points.

Cleveland trailed 63-53 at halftime. Then the Knicks blew it open in the third quarter to extend an 18-point lead into the final frame.

New York’s quick-hitting offense, which thrives on off-ball movement and screening, had the Cavs perpetually lost throughout the night. James Harden struggled to navigate screens, while the rest of the Cavaliers (even Evan Mobley) weren’t able to communicate cleanly enough to avoid giving up opportunities at the rim.

This proved to be a bad combination for the Cavs in last year’s playoffs, and it looks like their personnel still isn’t able to keep up with New York’s offense.

Towns and Brunson ended with a combined 60 points. The Cavs ended this game needing far more from Evan Mobley and James Harden. The two combined for just 19 points. It felt like Mitchell was the only Cavalier who could find his shot for most of the night.

Of course, the Cavs were without some key players tonight. Jarrett Allen missed his third straight game, while Jaylon Tyson has been sidelined since before Halloween. Sam Merrill, who injured his elbow in Friday’s game, was also out tonight.

Still, there’s a larger trend of the Knicks simply outplaying the Cavs. Sometimes a team has your number, and it feels like the Knicks have held an advantage over Cleveland since 2023.

The Atlanta Hawks were in action on Saturday night to face the Brooklyn Nets. After coming off a big NBA Cup win against the Washington Wizards the night before, the Hawks were looking to make it four victories in a row for the week. The Nets came into this game after winning their previous game against the Charlotte Hornets.

The good news for the Hawks is that they got Jalen Johnson back after he missed the last three games with an ankle sprain.

As much as it was good news to get one of their frontcourt players back, they lost Onyeka Okongwu on the first play of the game after he was elbowed in the mouth (he returned later in the quarter). That must’ve had an effect on the entire team, because they went down early and fast in the first.

The Nets were making almost every shot they took, while the Hawks struggled to find a basket at times. Johnson was able to get some easy points on his return to the court.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker continued his hot shooting throughout the season, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Hawks afloat.

Okongwu made a return after a short stint in the locker room and found Aaron Wiggins for this easy layup.

The Nets still managed to keep a double-digit lead heading into the second as the Hawks trailed 37-27.

The Hawks got into more of a rhythm in the second, and they turned defense into offense with the help of Dyson Daniels and Zuby Ejiofor.

It wasn’t long after that Wiggins and Johnson did the same thing, getting the Hawks easy points on the other end.

The Hawks were able to cut their deficit to single digits through the middle of the quarter, but the Nets ran up their lead again. Toward the end of the half, the Hawks started to make a strong run, and it helped them cut their deficit down tremendously.

Flemings use his speed to get this layup.

The Hawks got in transition a lot down the stretch, and Johnson led the way in that category to get them back into the game. Going into halftime, the Hawks trailed 70-66.

The start of the quarter was slow for the Hawks, and they weren’t able to capitalize much on bringing their deficit down before the half. The Nets continued to execute and get easy shots, but it was the second-chance opportunities they created that hurt the Hawks as well.

Johnson got out on the break again for an easy two points.

The Hawks had a lot of chances to cut their lead down, but the shots just weren’t going in. Most of the shots came up short, which may have something to do with playing the night before. Nonetheless, it was their defense that still kept them in the game.

Going into the fourth, the Hawks trailed 95-91.

It was the Wiggins show to start the fourth for the Hawks, as he scored eight straight points.

The Hawks got their deficit down to at least one point several times during their run, but they either weren’t able to score or get a stop to take the lead. That didn’t stop the Hawks from competing, even if they only had one shoe.

Wiggins continued knocking down big shots to keep the Hawks in it.

Alexander-Walker got mixey down the stretch and dropped a Nets defender, and then got this floater to go.

The Hawks kept fighting, and they were eventually able to take the lead with less than two minutes remaining. Seconds later, they were able to turn their defense into offense again to gain a 3-point lead.

It didn’t stop there, and Flemings got a huge block on Michael Porter Jr. that gave the Hawks the ball. On the next possession, Johnson was able to get downhill for an and-one to extend their lead.

The Nets tried to make a last-second effort to get their lead back, but the Hawks were able to execute and walk away with the win.

Johnson finished with 30 points, Wiggins and Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points, and Daniels finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

The Hawks will be back in action on Monday to face the Los Angeles Lakers.