East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Devin Harris finished with 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds, as the New Jersey Nets used a strong fourth quarter to take a 115-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Vince Carter ended with 26 points, eight boards and seven assists for the Nets, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Brook Lopez scored 25 and grabbed nine rebounds to help New Jersey win the opener of this home-and-home set.
Joe Johnson had a game-high 32 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost two in a row after opening the season 6-0. Marvin Williams and Ronald Murray each added 21 points for the Hawks, while Al Horford had 11 rebounds.
A Johnson three-pointer shortly into the fourth quarter gave Atlanta a two- point edge, but Harris countered with a pair of triples of his own. Several minutes later he added a pair of free throws to give New Jersey a 90-84 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left.
Johnson followed up with another shot from behind the arc, but Harris continued the back-and-forth between the players with a layup. Keyon Dooling drilled a three to put the Nets' lead at 95-87 with 5:33 left on the clock.
New Jersey held the margin until the Hawks reeled off five consecutive points, ended by a pair of Horford free throws with 2:40 left to bring Atlanta within 103-100.
But Lopez followed with a dunk and two Harris free throws made it a 107-100 game with just under two minutes left, and the Nets held on from there.
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Harris's jumper at the end of the first quarter gave the Nets a 27-22 lead going into the second, but Atlanta pulled even shortly thereafter. A Solomon Jones free throw, and baskets from Murray and Williams tied the game at 31-31 just more than three minutes in. The teams battled until halftime, when Atlanta held a 50-49 lead. A back-and-forth third quarter ended with Atlanta ahead, 76-73.
