On April 3, Beijing time, the Nets played against the Hawks away, the two teams had the same record, and they were likely to play playoffs, but they were fighting for the 7th-8th position. In the first half, the Nets briefly took a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but the Hawks' strong counterattack in the second quarter completely turned the tide.
In the first quarter, Durant showed a strong desire to attack as soon as he came up, hitting three consecutive points and easily scoring double figures in just 4 minutes! Durant played 12 minutes in a single quarter, contributing 15 points and 4 boards efficiently on 4-of-6, Irving also scored 7 points in a single quarter, and the Nets took a 2-point lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, James Johnson hit a basket, Drummond stole a dunk, Gallinari arced a three-point shot to help the Hawks rebound, Nash quickly called a halt. Durant's offensive efficiency plummeted during Durant's break, scoring just four points in 3.5 minutes. However, the Nets' suspension did not work, and the Hawks once again played an 8-0 small climax to widen the point difference.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Duou carried the team completely on his shoulders, first Irving arced three points to stop the bleeding, then Durant scored four consecutive points, followed by Irving and KD three consecutive three points. After the timeout, Durant went into the middle distance again, but the Nets defensive end was useless, and the Hawks took a 15-point lead 65-50 in the first half! The second quarter was 37-20.
Throughout the first half, Durant scored 7 of 10 three-pointers and 4-of-4 to blast down 25 points and 4 boards, and Irving 13 points. On the Hawks side, Trae Young had 13 points and seven assists, Gallinari had 11 points and Hunter had nine points and five boards. It is worth mentioning that Lou Wei ushered in the 1,000th game of his career as a substitute today, and is the first player in NBA history to achieve this achievement.