Hawks rout Nets 98-75 for 5th straight victory

NEW YORK (AP) -- DeMarre Carroll scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, Paul Millsap had 17 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Brooklyn Nets 98-75 Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Markel Brown #22 of the Brooklyn Nets attempts a shot over Mike Muscala #31 of the Atlanta Hawks (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Brook Lopez had 20 points and Joe Johnson added 12 for the Nets, who had won two straight - including a tough victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Jeff Teague finished with 14 points and Dennis Schroder scored 13 for the Hawks, who led by as many as 32 and improved to 4-4 on the road. Atlanta is 8-2 at home.

Both teams struggled with their shooting in the first quarter, and Brooklyn held an 18-16 edge at the start of the second. But it was the Hawks who were able to shake off their sluggish start.

After Kevin Garnett's layup with 8:08 remaining in the second, the Hawks tightened up their defense and forced the Nets to miss nine straight shots while going on a 14-0 run.

Mike Scott started the spurt with a 3-pointer, and Carroll's second 3 capped the run to extend Atlanta's lead to 37-22 with 4 minutes left in the half. Lopez ended Brooklyn's scoring drought with a three-point play.

Carroll outscored the Nets 14-13 in the second quarter after they missed 13 of their first 14 shots. Brooklyn went 5 of 19 in the period.

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TIP-INS

Hawks: Atlanta, third in the NBA with 25.5 assists per game, had 22 assists on 35 baskets.

Nets: Brooklyn gave up a season-low 16 first-quarter points. . Brooklyn is yet to win three straight games in December since the 1992-93 season. . After beating the Spurs for their first victory over a winning team, the Nets will face two more teams with winning records, Cleveland on Monday night and Chicago on the road next Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Nets: Will face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time this season on Monday at home.

Filed Under: Brooklyn Nets