Five observations from the Hawks’ 117-97 victory over the Nets Tuesday.
1. The dab went viral. In the first quarter, Dwight Howard chased down a loose ball at the Nets bench. His former Rockets teammate Jeremy Lin, in street clothes due to a left hamstring injury, stood up to shake Howard's hand. Howard responded with a good-natured dab "Me and Jeremy having fun," Howard said. "Lighten up the mood. Have a good time. Enjoy the game. This is why we play, right?"
The video of the light moment was all over the internet soon after.
2. Kenny Atkinson is trying. The Nets coach just doesn't have a lot to work with as he begins his head coaching career. After four seasons as a Hawks assistant – one year with Larry Drew and three with Mike Budenholzer – he is building program in Brooklyn.
“You feel a little bit for Kenny tonight,” Budenholzer said. “They are trying to build something here. The wins are a little bit hard to come by. You know how hard he’s working and how hard his players are working. It’s hard. I care so much for him. I want good for him. It is a little hard.”
Dennis Schroder called it “weird” to face Atkinson, who was influential in his player development early in his career. Schroder said the Nets’ system is largely based on the Hawks with some tweaks. Schroder said Atkinson told him there were going to be similarities when they ran into each other at the Las Vegas Summer League.
“Everybody is happy for him,” Schroder said. “It’s still kind of weird playing against him, seeing him coach everybody, getting his technical. I’m proud of him that he made that step.”
3. Credit Kris Humphries' defense. The Hawks used the trap to get the Nets out of any offensive rhythm.
“That’s what the coaches in the locker room are saying,” Budenholzer said. “I’m not sure. … Kris Humphries got aggressive in that second quarter. He’s got a little bit of freedom to turn it up. Some of those plays look like they were traps or blitzes. But that’s Kris taking an initiative and being aggressive.”
Humphries finished with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He played eight minutes in the first half and had 10 points, 6 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. He had two near coast-to-coast drives, including one off a steal that resulted in an and-one layup.
4. Dennis Schroder helped the Hawks start fast offensively. He had 10 first-quarter points on 4 of 5 shooting including makes on both his 3-point attempts. The Hawks shot nearly 60 percent and put up 35 points. There was a problem. The Nets scored 29 points and were 5 of 9 from 3-point range. The Hawks led by only six points after the first quarter.
The Hawks turned up the defense the remainder of the game. The Nets have five 3-pointers combined over the final three quarters. The Hawks held the Nets to 14 second-quarter points as they built a 20-point lead.
5. It was a good thing the game was not close for much of the contest. The Hawks were terrible from the free-throw. They finished shooting 58 percent as they made just 22 of 38 attempts. At one point, they were 11 of 22. On five occasions Hawks players missed both of two free-throw attempts – three by Howard and one each by Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr.
“We get to the free-throw line,” Budenholzer said. “We could do a better job there.”
