ATLANTA — Jeff Teague scored 22 points, Joe Johnson added 21 and the Atlanta Hawks won their third straight game to open the season, beating the New Jersey Nets105-98 on Friday night.
Deron Williams finished with 23 points and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21 to lead the Nets, who have dropped three straight and fell to 1-3.
The Hawks, who earned a 36-point victory at New Jersey earlier this week, were in a tight game for the first time this season. Their biggest lead was nine early in the fourth quarter before Brooks’ 17-footer made it 95-94 with 2:18 remaining.
After Williams’ reverse layup cut the lead to 98-96, New Jersey failed to score another field goal, but Brooks made a big mistake after Johnson’s 8-footer put the Hawks up 100-96 with 20.6 seconds remaining.