- (Sports Network) - Devin Harris finished with 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds, as the New Jersey Nets used a strong fourth quarter to take a 115-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Harris returned after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. Vince Carter ended with 26 points, eight boards and seven assists for the Nets, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Rookie Brook Lopez scored a career-high 25 and grabbed nine rebounds in his first career start to help New Jersey win the opener of this home-and-home set.

"They told me you gotta approach the games like your Stanford games," the former Cardinal standout Lopez said. "Obviously the competition is better, but you can't worry about that. You gotta play hard and worry about yourself."

Joe Johnson had a game-high 32 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Atlanta, which has lost two in a row after opening the season 6-0. Marvin Williams and Ronald Murray each added 21 points for the Hawks, while Al Horford had 11 rebounds.

A Johnson three-pointer shortly into the fourth quarter gave Atlanta a two- point edge, but Harris countered with a pair of triples of his own. Several minutes later he added a pair of free throws to give New Jersey a 90-84 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes left.

Johnson followed up with another shot from behind the arc, but Harris continued the back-and-forth between the players with a layup. Keyon Dooling drilled a three to put the Nets' lead at 95-87 with 5:33 left on the clock.

New Jersey held the margin until the Hawks reeled off five consecutive points, ended by a pair of Horford free throws with 2:40 left to bring Atlanta within 103-100.

But Lopez followed with a dunk and two Harris free throws made it a 107-100 game with just under two minutes left, and the Nets held on from there.

"It was from the beginning, not just the fourth quarter," Atlanta head coach Mike Woodson said of his team's lack of energy. "The fourth quarter just happened to be the worst. We were very lethargic. They were ready from the start...We played well in spurts, but we were too cool thinking we can turn it on and steal a win."

Harris's jumper at the end of the first quarter gave the Nets a 27-22 lead going into the second, but Atlanta pulled even shortly thereafter. A Solomon Jones free throw, and baskets from Murray and Williams tied the game at 31-31 just more than three minutes in. The teams battled until halftime, when Atlanta held a 50-49 lead. A back-and-forth third quarter ended with Atlanta ahead, 76-73.

Game Notes

The Nets had just eight turnovers to the Hawks' 12...New Jersey made 32-of-39 free throws, while Atlanta was successful on 17-of-23...The Hawks made 15- of-27 shots from behind the arc, led by Mike Bibby's four...Dooling ended with 10 points, while Ryan Anderson had 15 points for the Nets.



Copyright 2008 The Sports Network
All rights reserved