The Hawks are losing starters almost as fast as they are losing games.
Missing three starters – Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore and Thabo Sefolosha – the Hawks trailed by as many as 22 points before dropping a 107-92 decision to the Nets Sunday afternoon at Philips Arena. Sefolosha was a late scratch with a right groin injury after the Hawks knew they would be without Millsap and Bazemore.
The loss was the seventh straight for the reeling Hawks, matching the season-high skid from earlier this season.
The Hawks (37-36) could drop out of fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with a game-high 24 points. Dwight Howard had 19 points and 16 rebounds. He surpassed the 12,000 career rebound mark and became just the 15th player in NBA history with 16,000 points and 12,000 rebounds in a career. Taurean Prince, who started for Sefolosha, tied his career high with 17 points. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 16 points and Ersan Ilyasova had nine points and 17 rebounds. Depleted as they were, the Hawks bench had just seven points.
The Nets (16-57) have won three of the past four games. Brook Lopez led the balanced attack with 23 points.
The Nets led by as many as 22 points in the first half after a 33-7 run between the first and second quarters. They held a 43-7 advantage as the Hawks struggled offensively. They had only one point, a Howard free throw, in the second quarter during the Nets’ run. The Hawks were 2 of 16 from the field with six turnovers during the Nets’ run.
The Hawks ended the first half with a run of their own to cut the deficit to just seven points, 55-48, at halftime. The Hawks ended the second quarter on a 27-12 run with a Schroder basket with 7:32 left the first field goal of the period. The Hawks were 9 of 19 from the field, 6 of 10 from the free-throw line, had just two turnovers and forced five turnovers in the charge.
The Hawks closed to within five points early in the third quarter but found themselves in another double-digit deficit, 71-55, after a 14-3 Nets run. The Nets took a 78-68 lead into the fourth quarter. The Hawks never got closer than seven points the rest of the game.
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