Deron Williams has struggled with injuries for a majority of his time with the Brooklyn Nets, but he finally had the breakout performance they've been waiting for on Monday night. Williams overcame back-to-back tough outings to score 35 points and lead the Nets over the Atlanta Hawks 120-115 in overtime. The win evens the series at 2-apiece heading back to Atlanta.
The Nets are looking to become just the sixth No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, and the fourth since the first round became best-of-seven. All of this after they finished 38-44 in the regular season.
Bojan Bogdanovic hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:25 left in overtime, and the Nets were able to hold off the Hawks from there. Williams led Brooklyn into overtime with 16 fourth-quarter points, which is two fewer than his total from the first 3 games of the series. Brook Lopez finished with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 20 points and 11 assists, while DeMarre Carroll had 20 points and 9 rebounds in the loss. Paul Millsap had 16 points and 12 rebounds of his own for Atlanta, who has now lost 2 in a row after taking the first 2 of the series.
Kyle Korver added 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night, but missed three consecutive 3-pointers with Atlanta down by 3 in the final seconds. The Nets grabbed the rebound and former Hawk Joe Johnson closed out the game with a couple of free throws.
Before Monday's game 4, neither team had reached 100 points in the series, and the Hawks shot just 39 percent from the field in that span. Atlanta had defeated the Nets 6 straight times this season before losing these last 2 road games.
Williams went 1-for-7 and 1-for-8 in the last 2 games, and sat out the last 16 minutes of the Nets' game 3 win after injuring his tailbone. He regrouped on Monday to hit 7 three-pointers, including going 4-for-4 from downtown in the fourth quarter. He only hit two free throws in the extra period, but that capped off Brooklyn's 7-0 run to close out the game.
The tied up series will go back to Atlanta for game 5 on Wednesday night.
The Nets are looking to become just the sixth No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, and the fourth since the first round became best-of-seven. All of this after they finished 38-44 in the regular season.
Bojan Bogdanovic hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:25 left in overtime, and the Nets were able to hold off the Hawks from there. Williams led Brooklyn into overtime with 16 fourth-quarter points, which is two fewer than his total from the first 3 games of the series. Brook Lopez finished with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 20 points and 11 assists, while DeMarre Carroll had 20 points and 9 rebounds in the loss. Paul Millsap had 16 points and 12 rebounds of his own for Atlanta, who has now lost 2 in a row after taking the first 2 of the series.
Kyle Korver added 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night, but missed three consecutive 3-pointers with Atlanta down by 3 in the final seconds. The Nets grabbed the rebound and former Hawk Joe Johnson closed out the game with a couple of free throws.
Before Monday's game 4, neither team had reached 100 points in the series, and the Hawks shot just 39 percent from the field in that span. Atlanta had defeated the Nets 6 straight times this season before losing these last 2 road games.
Williams went 1-for-7 and 1-for-8 in the last 2 games, and sat out the last 16 minutes of the Nets' game 3 win after injuring his tailbone. He regrouped on Monday to hit 7 three-pointers, including going 4-for-4 from downtown in the fourth quarter. He only hit two free throws in the extra period, but that capped off Brooklyn's 7-0 run to close out the game.
The tied up series will go back to Atlanta for game 5 on Wednesday night.
