The Brooklyn Nets (34-25, fifth in the Eastern Conference) make a trip to State Farm Arena on Sunday to face the Atlanta Hawks (30-30, eighth in the Eastern Conference) for the third time this season. The Nets lead the regular-season series 2-0.
In the first matchup, a Nets 120-116 win on Dec. 9, Kevin Durant scored 34 points to lead Brooklyn in scoring while Kyrie Irving had 33 points. The Nets winning this game gave them a 6-1 record through their 7-game homestand and their ninth win in 12 games.
In the second game, a Brooklyn 108-107 win on Dec. 28, Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, including 15 points in the fourth quarter, to lead the Nets to their 10th win in a row. At the time, the 10-game winning streak was the longest in the NBA and with the victory, Brooklyn had won its 14th games out of 15.
Brooklyn comes into this game off a disappointing 131-87 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday. It looked like the Nets never made it out of the locker room as the Bulls scored the game’s first 11 points and never looked back. Brooklyn is still trying to build chemistry at a critical part of the season while dealing with the fact that guard Ben Simmons may not be healthy again for the rest of this season.
Atlanta comes into this game amidst some changes as well. Along with the front office structure, the Hawks fired coach Nate McMillan during the All-Star break because of how the team has underperformed this season. Despite all of the changes, Atlanta was able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday 136-119.
Here’s when and where you can tune in to see the matchup: