National Basketball Association
Brooklyn 90, Atlanta 88
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: #74 Curtis Blair, #33 Sean Corbin, #22 Bill Spooner
Attendance: 12241

NEW YORK -- As forward Thaddeus Young raced down the court on a fast break, Brooklyn Nets coach Lionel Hollins considered calling a timeout.

Hollins was very close to halting play but instead let the action unfold.

It turned out to be the right decision as Young capped the fast break by knocking down two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining and preserved a 90-88 win over the Atlanta Hawks by intercepting an inbounds pass at the buzzer.

"I looked around and I saw Thad running up ahead, so I didn't do it. I was ready," Hollins said. "Joe (Johnson) made the pass, Thad finished, got fouled and he made both free throws."

Young's sequence on both ends capped a second straight game with a frenetic sequence in the final seconds of regulation. Three nights after center Brook Lopez missed a short jumper as time expired in regulation of an eight-point overtime loss at Golden State, Brooklyn made the plays on both ends down the stretch, going from being down 88-86 to getting its second win in 11 games during a span of 33.3 seconds.

"So it was a big difference between two games," Hollins said. "One game we have three opportunities to execute and we don't. Tonight we have three opportunities to execute and we come out a winner."

After Atlanta's Thabo Sefolosha hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 40.9 seconds left, guard Jarrett Jack evened the game with an 18-footer. Atlanta had two chances to regain the lead but guard Dennis Schroder missed a floater through the lane and forward Paul Millsap had his layup attempt blocked by Lopez.

Lopez gained possession and a streaking Young sped to the hoop as Hollins thought about using a timeout. Moments before reaching the basket, Young was fouled hard by guard Kyle Korver and went down.

After the play was reviewed to see if it warranted being called a flagrant foul and, after Young got up, he calmly sank the free throws giving the Nets their final lead with one last defensive stand remaining.

"His body kind of took my legs from under me and I tried to catch myself with my wrist," said Young, who had postgame X-rays on his right wrist that were negative.

"The mindset was when I got the ball was score the ball. I potentially knew I was going to the free throw line so I was prepared for that also but at the end of the day we won the game."

Following a timeout, Sefolosha was stationed opposite the Atlanta bench and Lopez was guarding him tightly. Sefolosha was able to get the inbounds pass over Lopez before a five-second violation could be called but Young intercepted the pass intended for forward Al Horford and Atlanta never got a final shot off.

"It's what I drew up, but it didn't work," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "The execution set another example of where we need to get better. Brooklyn guarded it well. They switched everything so we didn't get a good look."

"I was trying to find somebody open," Sefolosha said. "I thought I had a good matchup with Thaddeus Young. I tried to bring it high but Thaddeus got a hand on it. Good play on his part."

Lopez led the Nets with 24 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double while shooting 11-of-21. Jack added 14 and reserve guard Shane Larkin also had 14 for the Nets, who have played six games decided by six points or fewer. Forward Joe Johnson nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Horford led the Hawks with 18 points and Millsap added 17 for Atlanta, which shot 43.4 percent and committed a season-high 20 turnovers in its third straight loss.

Before the dramatic final sequence, the Nets opened a 76-70 lead on a put-back by Lopez with 8:17 remaining but the Hawks scored the next eight points and took a 78-76 edge on an open 19-footer by Horford with 5:15 remaining. Brooklyn hung around and took an 83-82 lead when Johnson's off-balance jumper rolled in with 2:43 to go.

On the next possession, Lopez was fouled by Korver and split a pair at the line with 1:53 left. Millsap was fouled on the other end but also split a pair and it was an 84-83 game with 1:39 remaining, setting up the intense final minute.

NOTES: Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer did not have any updates on the status of G Jeff Teague (left ankle sprain) and F Kent Bazemore (right ankle sprain) other than saying Teague was closer to returning than Bazemore. ... Brooklyn F Thaddeus Young (16 points, 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 21-28 with the Philadelphia 76ers. ... Atlanta C Tiago Splitter played 12 minutes in his first start of the season as part of a bigger lineup that Budenholzer has wanted get more looks at since training camp. ... Tuesday marked Atlanta's first visit to Brooklyn since eliminating the Nets from the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on May 1. Seven players who appeared in the game are no longer with Brooklyn, including PG Deron Williams.
Top Game Performances
 
Atlanta   Brooklyn
Al Horford 18 Scoring Brook Lopez 24
Dennis Schroder 10 Assists Joe Johnson 9
Thabo Sefolosha 7 Rebounds Thaddeus Young 11
Kyle Korver 3 Free Throws Made Brook Lopez 2
Justin Holiday 2 Steals Thaddeus Young 5
Al Horford 2 Blocks Brook Lopez 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Atlanta 88 43.4 12-29 10-14 22 44 7 7 20
Brooklyn 90 44.0 9-20 7-13 22 44 3 14 12
Upcoming Games
  • Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .200 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Hawks have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .400 after a loss.