Nets looking to improve defensively in rematch against young Hawks

The Nets played the second of two straight home games against the Hawks on Friday. They will play back-to-back road games against Cleveland on Jan. 20-22 and at home against Miami on Jan. 23-25. Those are the three back-to-back sets they have in the same location in the first 37 games of their schedule that so far has been announced by the NBA.

The young Hawks took the Nets to the limit on Wednesday before losing a 145-141 shootout. Can they do it again? Kevin Durant acknowledged the offensive prowess shown by the Hawks, who got 30 points each from Trae Young and John Collins.

"They’re energetic," Durant said after that game. "They get out and run and they shoot threes. They all shoot with confidence. They got 46 threes and hit 18, but it felt like all of those guys, Lloyd [head coach Pierce] is telling them to be confident in shooting those no matter who you are. Solomon Hill coming off the bench and knocking down shots and [Bogdan] Bogdanovic coming off the bench, even [John] Collins knocking down shots as a big [man].

"They present a nice challenge of five or six guys that could get their own shots. And then, you got another coach in [Rajon] Rondo on the bench, too. So, they’re going to be a team to be reckoned with this year."

Going into the game, the Nets had the No. 1 defensive ranking in the NBA. It didn’t even matter a little bit. The Hawks forced them into an up-and-down game. Two things saved the Nets — the 33 points that Durant (16) and Kyrie Irving (17) posted in the fourth quarter and a bench that produced 56 points on 22-for-33 shooting, including a poor 4-of-13 night from Caris LeVert, who scored only 10 points.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 13 rebounds, Landry Shamet made all five shots he took and scored 14, Taurean Prince made all five of his shots for 12 points, and Jeff Green had 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting. It seriously was an amazing bench performance by the Nets.

"TP hit some big shots in that first half, Jeff and Landry came in and picked us up," Durant said. "And that's what we're going to need all season. Our shot is not going to be falling all year. I think we got the shots that we wanted, it just didn't go in. In the fourth quarter we were able to knock a few in."

There is no doubt the Nets must improve defensively against the Hawks in the Friday rematch. As Durant said, "Yeah, just about being more aware in the slip outs because we switch a lot on pick-and-rolls and this team slips out. John Collins is probably the best in the league at slipping out of screens with Trae Young. Early on, they got us with a few lobs and it was good to feel that type of force on the offensive end for our defense, and next game, hopefully, we take it in a little better and start the game better.’’

Without a doubt, the bright spot for the Nets was the play of backup center Allen, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He, Green and Durant split the fourth-quarter minutes while starter DeAndre Jordan was benched the entire fourth quarter. Of Allen’s 13 rebounds, five came on the offensive end, and he credited new assistant coach Amar’e Stoudamire for inspiring his work on the offensive boards.

"It’s just going out there and just doing it," Allen said. "I feel like sometimes I think too much about what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing right . . . When you’re out there enjoying yourself, that’s when you play your best."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.