Shorthanded Hawks drop third straight with 90-88 loss to Nets

In what was a close game the entire way, the Atlanta Hawks were unable to pull out a victory in Brooklyn, losing their third consecutive game by a score of 90-88.

The Hawks were without Kent Bazemore and Jeff Teague, who were both out with injuries. With these injuries, Dennis Schroder, Thabo Sefolosha, Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Tiago Splitter were the starting lineup that the Hawks would go with Tuesday night.

In the first quarter, the Hawks had very balanced scoring. Sefolosha, Millsap, and Horford all had four points apiece. Tiago Splitter grabbed three boards for the Hawks, who outrebounded the Nets in the quarter 11-8. Joe Johnson's offensive struggles this season continued in the quarter, going 0-for-3. Jarrett Jack had a solid first quarter, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, but the Hawks would take a 19-17 lead heading into the second quarter.

Shelvin Mack found a groove in the second quarter for the Hawks, and helped the Hawks get off to a 10-3 run to begin the quarter. He totaled eight points, and had a +/- of +9, the highest of any player on the floor in the quarter. The Hawks would extend their lead to 10 points at 35-25 with just over six minutes left in the quarter. But the Nets shooting efforts improved in the quarter, shooting over 52 percent, up from their 39 percent effort from the first quarter. By the end of the half, the Nets had outscored the Hawks for the quarter, and trailed by just one, 46-45.

The third quarter was the Shane Larkin and Brook Lopez show. The duo combined for 16 of the Nets 27 in the quarter. The shorthanded Hawks just couldn't pull away from the Nets, who had answers for everything that they had to throw at them. The Hawks efficiency from 3-point range kept them in the game, as they shot 5-of-7.

The Hawks looked very composed in the fourth quarter. Especially Dennis Schroder, considering the situation. The experience of the Hawks was serving them well, and their effort on the defensive end, especially underneath the basket showed. The Hawks kept it close, and kept it close long enough for Thabo Sefolosha to knock down an open 3 to give the Hawks an 88-85 lead, only to be equalled by a Jarrett Jack three to knot it up at 88.

After nearly turning the ball over on their last possession, Dennis Schroder got a floater off, that was rebounded by Paul Millsap. Millsap went for the putback, and was blocked by Brook Lopez. Thaddeus Young sprinted down the floor with just seconds remaining, and got fouled by Kyle Korver with 1.4 seconds left.

Atlanta was unable to get a shot off on their last possession, and lost by a final score of 90-88. Al Horford led the Hawks with 18 points, and Paul Millsap had 17. Dennis Schorder nearly had a double-double with eight points and 10 assists.

The Hawks will look to snap their skid Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings in Atlanta.