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Nets defeat Hawks, 95-90 Richard Jefferson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, and Travis Best, starting in place of Jason Kidd, had a season-high 21 to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 95-90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.
Kidd, who played 17 minutes as he continues to recover from a knee surgery, hit five of six free throws in the final 33.4 seconds.
Antoine Walker led the Hawks with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Atlanta committed 20 turnovers, leading to 28 points for New Jersey.
The Hawks lived up to their billing as the NBA's worst team on free throws, hitting just 12 of 21.
Eric Williams scored 20 points for the Nets, who took their biggest lead when Jefferson's 3-pointer from the left wing made it 74-62 with 8:38 remaining.
Al Harrington had 21 points before fouling out for Atlanta, which dropped to 2-9 at home, including a 1-6 mark against Eastern Conference teams.
New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank projected that Kidd, who has the fourth-best assist average in league history, would play only 18 minutes after he went a season-high 28 in an overtime victory over New Orleans on Friday night.
Kidd, who played the final 7:47, finished with four turnovers and was just 1-for-5 from the floor. He had nine points and no assists.
Jefferson grabbed eight rebounds for the Nets.
Notes:@ Alonzo Mourning didn't make the trip with New Jersey and missed his second straight game with hip, knee, hand and leg injuries. Brian Scalabrine started in his place for the second straight night. ... Rookie G Josh Smith, the 17th overall pick, started his second straight game for the Hawks in place of Kenny Anderson. |
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