Jalen Johnson highlighted a 23-point showing with a dunk from near the foul line in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks overcame an injury to Trae Young along with an early 12-point deficit to hang on for a 117-112 victory over the winless Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in New York.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18, and Luke Kennard contributed 17 as the Hawks received 59 points from their reserves. Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 14 and seven assists as the Hawks shot 47.3%.
Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 32 points, but the Nets lost their fifth straight and are off to their worst start since starting 2015-16 with seven consecutive losses. Cam Thomas added 19 while Nic Claxton contributed 18 and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn shot 45.5% from the floor, and allowed 27 points off 16 turnovers.
Johnson shot 10-of-16 and his dunk occurred with 8:06 left as the Hawks attempted to close things out.
After a basket by Brooklyn’s Tyrese Martin, Johnson got the ball from Dyson Daniels and spun past Jalen Wilson near midcourt. He took off from in front of the foul line, split past Porter Jr and Claxton, used his right hand to complete the dunk and give the Hawks a 104-92 lead.
Johnson’s dunk occurred well after Young exited with a sprained right knee following a collision with teammate Mouhamed Gueye with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter while defending an inbounds pass. Young scored six points in seven minutes before hobbling off the floor.
Johnson’s dunk hardly finished things off as the Nets hung around all night and trailed 115-112 after Porter sank two free throws with 1:28 remaining.
Brooklyn had another chance following a missed 3 by Alexander-Walker, but Claxton missed two shots in the lane and Luke Kennard hit two free throws with 26.2 seconds left. The game ended with Thomas getting blocked at the rim by Alexander-Walker and missing a 3-point try in the final 15.4 seconds.
Atlanta gave up the first 12 points, but held a 34-27 lead through the opening quarter and a 13-point lead halftime.
Brooklyn inched closer in the opening minutes of the third, getting within 77-71 on a basket by Terance Mann with 5:24 left. The Hawks took a 15-point lead nearly two minutes later and took a 94-83 lead into the fourth.
