The Brooklyn Nets saw their lead in the competition to stay away from the play-in game grow somewhat more agreeable on account of great outcomes in the final quarter against the Houston Rockets and help from the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
The Nets have another chance to extend their lead over the worst team in the Western Conference down the stretch on Friday night when they host the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks, giving them another chance to do so.
Six games remain for Brooklyn (41-35), five of which are at home. With a 129-100 victory on Saturday, the Nets completed a three-game season sweep of the Heat and are 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami.
The Nets performed adequately in the final minutes of their 123-114 victory over the Rockets, while the Heat faltered down the stretch in their 101-92 loss to the Knicks.
The Nets won their first game at home on Wednesday, outscoring Houston 18-4 in the final three minutes of a 116-114 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, their previous home game.
Johnson and Bridges, who scored a combined 21 points in the fourth, helped Brooklyn win. After averaging 27.5 points in the fourth quarter during a four-game home skid, the Nets also made nine 3-pointers in the final 12 minutes and scored 37 points in the fourth.
Bridges added 27 points, and Johnson scored 31 points on 11 of 18 attempts. After going 0-of-11 from the floor in Sunday’s 13-point loss to Orlando, Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points for the duo on the second night of a back-to-back.
Despite having the same record as Toronto (38-38), Atlanta is in eighth place because it won two of its three meetings with the Raptors. The Hawks are two games ahead of the Chicago Bulls, who come to Charlotte on Friday, and one and a half games behind Miami.
Since winning five straight from January 13-20, Atlanta is 14-16. The Hawks have reached.500 15 times during that time, and with Tuesday’s 120-118 home victory over the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers, they evened their record once more.
By having seven players score in double figures, Atlanta was able to overcome Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell’s 44 points. Dejounte Murray returned to the game with 29 points after shooting 11-for-31 in his first two games after a non-COVID-19 illness kept him out for a short time.
The Hawks overcame Trae Young’s quiet night with a season-high 21 points from Onyeka Okongwu. Young was held to 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting, but for the second game in a row, he had 10 assists.
The Nets won two of the initial three gatherings, however Atlanta procured a 129-127 home win on Feb. 26 when Youthful scored 34 and hit the game-dominating 12-foot jumper.
