Strong start fades as Nets drop fifth straight, 117-112 to Hawks

The Nets fell to 0-5 after a 117-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at Barclays Center. Once again, an encouraging start quickly faded as defensive breakdowns and poor execution kept Brooklyn from its first win of the season.

“I think we had a much better second half,” said head coach Jordi Fernández. “See, 53 points allowed in the second half. I think you give yourself a chance, and we were very close to a faceoff or a faceoff and we’re still a two-for-one and have a chance to win. So, we didn’t go our way at the end, but those were positive steps.”

Nic Claxton scored seven of Brooklyn’s first 12 points and Cam Thomas added five as they jumped Atlanta from the start, forcing five straight incompletions and snatching a 12-0 run. But as quickly as the Nets built that cushion, they lost it. Atlanta settled in, tightened up their defense and outscored them 34-15 the rest of the period to take a seven-point advantage into the second quarter.

Atlanta kept rolling from there. Onyeka Okongwu made a 3-pointer to make it 43-29 with 9:48 left in the first half, and Fernández – once again frustrated by his team’s waning effort – immediately called a timeout. Despite losing All-Star Trae Young to a right knee injury in the first quarter, the Hawks remained in control and led 64-51 until the break.

Thomas committed four fouls in the first half and shot just 1 of 8 from the field, while Michael Porter Jr. carried the Nets with 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting.

Porter kept the Nets alive in the third quarter, scoring 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting with three made triples at the 9:02 mark. His hot hand fueled a 13-6 Brooklyn run that cut Atlanta’s lead to six and gave it a spark to start the second half.

The Nets narrowly won the third quarter, 32-30, shooting 52.4 percent from the field. Porter scored 11 points in the period and Thomas added eight, but Brooklyn still allowed Atlanta to shoot 52.2 percent and knock down four more threes, keeping the deficit in double digits heading into the final quarter.

Brooklyn cut the lead to three with 1:28 left, but the Hawks held on in the final seconds to seal the victory.

Porter carried the scoring load with 32 points, while Thomas scored 19 despite struggling on the court. Terance Mann handled more of the point guard duties, finishing with a team-best six assists to help stabilize Brooklyn’s offense.

Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Nets will have a few days to regroup before returning home on Sunday to face the Philadelphia 76ers.