NBA

Nets Fall to Hawks 110-105

Dennis Schroder scored 31 points, Paul Millsap added 24 and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 110-105 victory over the Nets on Wednesday night.

Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 16 points for Atlanta, which had lost six of eight to fall three games behind fourth-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference.

Sean Kilpatrick scored 27 points, Brook Lopez had 18 and Jeremy Lin 16 for Brooklyn, the NBA's worst team. The Nets were trying to win consecutive games for the first time since last March 24-26.

Lin's corner 3 trimmed the lead to 106-105 with 13 seconds remaining, but Hardaway and Schroder each hit a pair of free throws to end it.

Schroder was benched for disciplinary reasons in the second half of Monday's loss to Golden State. He wasn't available to speak with reporters at the morning shootaround or before the game, but coach Mike Budenholzer played him 36 minutes, second-most in the game to Millsap's 39.

The Nets took their biggest advantage at nine points on K.J. McDaniels' runner early in the second quarter. They didn't relinquish the lead until Schroder hit a layup to make it 67-65 midway through the third. Kilpatrick's 3 put Brooklyn back ahead by three, but Atlanta led by one entering the fourth and didn't trail again.

Schroder has had a rough second half of the season. He was suspended one game for returning late from the All-Star break and was held out of the starting lineup after missing a team bus to the next game.

But he's scored at least 20 points 24 times and is indispensable for an offense that's sluggish without him. Schroder drove the baseline past two defenders for a savvy reverse layup that put Atlanta up by five and assisted on the next possession when Millsap's 3 gave the Hawks a 98-91 lead with 3:47 remaining.

TIP-INS

Nets: Kilpatrick has scored at least 20 points in three straight games for the first time in his three-year career. He began the night averaging 13.4 points, third-best among the league's undrafted players. ... Lin had averaged 12.7 points and 2.8 assists in the previous six games since returning from a 26-game absence.

Hawks: C Dwight Howard needed two rebounds to pass Kevin Willis for 24th place on the league's career list. He finished with 14. ... Atlanta improved to 28-5 overall and 15-2 at home this season when leading after three quarters. ...Hardaway has scored in double figures in 19 straight games. ... PG Jose Calderon, claimed off waivers last Saturday, made his Atlanta debut after sitting out the last two games. Budenholzer did not play Schroder's usual backup, rookie Malcolm Delaney.

UP NEXT

Nets: At Dallas on Friday to end their eight-game road trip. This will be their first meeting this season.

Hawks: Host Toronto on Friday. The teams split a pair of games in Canada in December.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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