Horrific 2nd half downs Atlanta Hawks vs. Nets

Despite committing a gargantuan 23 turnovers, the Nets blasted the Atlanta Hawks 110-90 at home on Monday night due to a desultory 2^nd half performance that saw the home team outscored by a 57 to 36 margin.

The first half of this game was a spirited affair, as Dennis Schröder carved up the Nets to the tune of 17 points in the first 2 quarters. His mid-range game was flawless, as he did not miss a shot from the field until late in the 2^nd quarter. Dennis was skittering all over the court, and his speed and handles were leaving the Nets dazed.

DeAndre’ Bembry was having a similar impact off the bench, scoring 9 points in the 1^st half and only finishing with 13 points (which was a new career-high) in 27 minutes of action.

Related Story: Dewayne Dedmon’s first year in Atlanta has been great

This game started off as an entertaining and engaging affair, with both teams playing well at an impressive pace. Going into halftime the Hawks had a one-point lead over the visitors, and they were prepared to battle it out with a game Nets team.

Sadly, this was not to be case as the Hawks put in a putrescent performance in the 3^rd quarter. It was as if they had been stricken with a sudden bout of basketball rigor mortis – passes had no purpose, drives ended with bricks thudding all over the rim and backboard, and the Hawks’ players moved like they had straightjackets on both offensively and defensively.

The Hawks went without making a field goal (0 of 12) for the first 6:49 of the 3^rd quarter, and during that time the Nets fired off 17 points – turning a one-point deficit into a 16-point lead that they were never in any danger of relinquishing for the rest of the game.

More from Soaring Down South

• Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
• Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
• When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
• Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
• Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal

The story of this Hawks season so far has been the absolute glut of injuries to major players. All three of  the Hawks’ injured big men could’ve helped in a huge way on this night: Mike Muscala, Dewayne Dedmon and John Collins would not have allowed Jarrett Allen to have his own personal dunk contest during the decisive 3^rd quarter.

A few stats to pad the nightmarish ugliness of this performance: no Hawks player who played more than 16 minutes had a field goal percentage above 50 percent – other than Dennis Schröder, who went a supremely inefficient 9 of 17 (52.9%) from the field.

For the starters, Taurean “The Pump-Fake” Prince went 2 of 9 (22%) in 27 minutes of play, Kent Bazemore went 3 of 9 with 5 turnovers (33%) in 25 minutes and Miles Plumlee went 0 of 4 with 1 point and 4 turnovers in 21 minutes.

Off the bench, DeAndre’ Bembry – who played well in the first half – went 5 of 12 (41.7%) from the field and committed 5 fouls. Marco Belinelli went 1 of 7 (14.3%) from the field, but had 6 made free throws, and Isaiah Taylor had 9 points on 3 of 8 shooting (37.5%).

On the Nets’ side, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finished with a whopping, game-high +29 box plus/minus despite shooting 6 of 14 (42.9%) from the field; he also completely blew two of the easiest layups of all time in the 2^nd quarter. Luckily for him, it didn’t matter a whit.

Caris LeVert, after an awful showing against the Hawks on Saturday, had the ball on a string on this day – popping off for 17 points on 7 of 13 shooting with 7 assists and 2 steals. He played with tremendous energy and verve, completely outplaying everyone on the Hawks.

Jarrett Allen had a stat line we’re used to seeing for John Collins: 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting – all of which were dunks off lobs and putbacks – other than the first made three-pointer in his career (why not?).

The Hawks have now lost two of the past 4 games in blowout fashion – this was a winnable game at home against a team they defeated only two days ago on the road. They led at halftime, but came out of the tunnel in the 3^rd quarter completely out of sorts.

Sure, injuries played a huge role in this game (and by extension this entire Hawks season), but that’s no excuse for an effort this poor.

Next: Atlanta Hawks drop Brooklyn Nets 114-102

The Hawks’ next game is Wednesday in Orlando against the Magic; tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.