Hawks torch Nets 141-107 behind McCollum’s efficient 25

The Hawks don’t just beat the Nets — they flatten them from the opening tip. Atlanta jumps out to a 10-0 start, never gives Brooklyn a real foothold, and spends the rest of the night turning Barclays Center into a runaway. By halftime it’s 71-55. By the end, the margin is 34 and the game has long since stopped being a question.

What stands out first is how cleanly Atlanta keeps the pressure on. The opening burst starts with J. Johnson at the line to cap the 10-0 run, and the Hawks are already dictating pace and spacing before Brooklyn can settle in. The Nets do find one response in the first quarter — a 15-0 home run that cuts a 17-35 deficit to 31-35 after M. Smith nails a 25-foot three — but that’s as close as they get to truly swinging the momentum. Atlanta absorbs the punch and answers with more shot-making, more ball movement, and far more purpose. Every time Brooklyn hints at a rally, the Hawks have a counter ready.

And the counterpunches come in waves. In the second quarter, D. Daniels slices into the lane for a cutting dunk off an Onyeka Okongwu assist as part of a 9-0 Atlanta run, then later Daniels is back on the move again, finishing a running layup during an 8-0 stretch that pushes the lead to 69-52. That’s the difference in this game: Atlanta is not just scoring, it’s scoring in a way that punishes every Brooklyn breakdown. The ball is moving, the paint is open, and the Hawks are consistently getting downhill touches or clean perimeter looks. Jalen Johnson does a little bit of everything as well, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Dyson Daniels adds 11 points, 4 boards, 6 assists, and five steals in a disruptive all-around night.

CJ McCollum is the cleanest offensive finisher of the bunch. He posts 25 points and 7 assists in only 25 minutes, and the efficiency jumps off the page: 67 percent from the field. That kind of night is exactly why Atlanta’s offense never cools off. He’s punishing closeouts, keeping the offense in rhythm, and letting the Hawks play with a cushion that grows by the quarter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker gives them another sturdy scoring night with 21 points, helping make sure the second unit doesn’t surrender any momentum. By the time Atlanta opens the fourth and eventually stretches it to 116-91, the game is no longer about whether Brooklyn can climb back — it’s about how large the final number gets.

The closing stretch is more a procession than a chase. T. Scott throws down a running dunk with 2:44 left, C. Koloko adds a reverse layup and later a dunk, and C. Houstan finishes with a turnaround jumper in the final seconds. Even the defensive plays keep coming: C. Johnson blocks a shot, Koloko blocks another, and K. Wallace adds a steal at the horn. Brooklyn gets the occasional late bucket, but Atlanta is still controlling every possession, every rebound, every lane.

For Brooklyn, there just isn’t a silver lining in a game that was effectively decided by the middle quarters. The Nets never led, never forced a tie, and never put real heat on Atlanta after that early first-quarter surge was extinguished. For Atlanta, this is the kind of win that matters in the standings and in the locker room: efficient, decisive, and backed by contributions from multiple rotation pieces. If the Hawks are trying to build momentum heading into the stretch run, this is the template — fast start, disciplined offense, active defense, and no mercy once they get separation.