Recap: Atlanta vs. New Jersey
Sports Network | November 15, 2008
Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Devin Harris continued his strong play with 33 points and 10 assists, as the New Jersey Nets topped Atlanta, 119-107, sweeping the home-and-home set with the Hawks.
Harris has scored at least 30 points in his last three games, but Saturday's effort was his first double-double for the Nets, who won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Vince Carter finished with 29 points and moved into third place on the Nets' all-time scoring list, passing Jason Kidd. Ryan Anderson was one of three bench players to reach double-figure scoring with 17 points; Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling had 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.
Joe Johnson had 31 points for the Hawks, who have lost three in a row since opening the season with six straight wins. Ronald Murray and Marvin Williams each scored 14 points for Atlanta.
The teams played a back-and-forth first quarter, and a pair of Anderson free throws in the final minutes gave New Jersey a 29-28 lead headed into the second stanza.
The Nets and Hawks traded jumpers to open up the second, but New Jersey then rattled off 14 consecutive points. Anderson kicked off the run with a three- pointer, though Dooling sustained the surge with eight points -- including two shots from the line that extended the Nets' advantage to 45-30 with 6:54 left in the half.
But Atlanta soon after went on a 14-2 run, drawing within 47-44 on a free throw from Solomon Jones with 2:15 remaining. The teams stayed close from there, and a pair of Harris free throws with 0.3 seconds left gave New Jersey a 55-50 lead at the intermission.
The Nets got some breathing room near the end of the third quarter, when a Carter jumper and Harris triple gave New Jersey a 76-67 edge. The shots capped a 10-2 run that put the Nets in control.
Carter drilled a three at the end of the stanza to put the Nets up 85-73 going into the fourth, and New Jersey held a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
Kidd scored 7,373 points in his Nets career...Al Horford finished with 12 points for the Hawks, while Mike Bibby had 10 points and seven assists...New Jersey made 12-of-18 three-point attempts, and shot 55.1 percent (38-of-69) overall.
