3 Nets takeaways from 122-114 win over the Hawks

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NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (23-45) were hoping that they could end their home back-to-back with at least one win given how close they were to beating the Boston Celtics on Saturday. With their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks (32-36) on Sunday, Brooklyn had a chance to end their three-game losing streak and hopefully, turn their season around in terms of morale.

The Nets got what they wanted as they beat the Hawks122-114 despite not only losing a 10-point lead early on, but also falling behind by 12 points in the second half. Cam Johnson led the way once again as he put up 28 points, four rebounds, and seven assists while Keon Johnson played his role to perfection with 22 points, eight rebounds, and five assists while filling in for Cam Thomas.

The Nets were able to pull out the win despite Trae Young going for 28 points and 12 assists as he was almost single-handily creating offense for his teammates over the course of the game. Here are three Nets takeaways from Sunday's win over the Hawks:

Cam Johnson​

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Johnson continued his impressive, all-around performance for the Nets in the wake of Cam Thomas potentially missing the rest of the season with his left hamstring strain. While Johnson playing well this season is the opposite of a surprise, what he has been doing lately from the standpoint of affecting the game in addition to his scoring is something that has been encouraging to see.

Against the Hawks, Johnson was efficient scoring the ball as he finished the game shooting 7-of-16 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point land, but he was also 10-of-10 from the free-throw line line while putting up four rebounds and seven assists. His ability to make an impact for Brooklyn through his passing is something that the franchise has to be happy about given that the scouting report on Johnson prior to this season was primarily about his shooting ability.

Johnson spoke after the game about how he maintains the balance between looking for his shot vs. looking for his teammates:

"I'm somebody that I feel like throughout my career, I've shot a lot of threes, and maybe more of my attempts in games come from three than two across my career. It's kind of always as a spacing, as I'm finding them in transition, coming off of screens, it's always been there. As they (those looks) start to get taken away, I feel like I'm starting to understand a little bit that they (opposing defenses) are also trying to run me off the line and not let me shoot the easy ones. A portion of it is letting the game kind of come to me in a sense."

Keon Johnson​

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Keon Johnson has been one of the more interesting players on the roster given that he began the season as one of the guys that needed more development time to see what he would be as a potential NBA player. In the beginning, Johnson was thrust into more minutes due to the injuries to Cam Thomas along with Brooklyn trying to rebuild by trading players like Dennis Schroder as well.

What has happened over the course of this season has been Johnson showing that he is starting to put together the parts of his game that head coach Jordi Fernandez is asking from him at this time. Johnson was particularly efficient scoring the ball against the Hawks, but he was 4-for-9 shooting the ball from deep and is if he show that his three-point shot has improved, the sky is the limit for him.

Johnson spoke on what allowed him to continue having success against Atlanta:

"Trying to keep my feet in the paint and just being under control. I felt like there were times where I would drive to the paint and be out of control a little bit or they'll block the shot, but I knew that once I got into the paint, either I have the shot or spraying out to my teammates. On a couple of possessions, I sprayed out, and then that just opened up me attacking a little bit more because they were kind of timid on other guys shooting."

Tyrese Martin​

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With D'Angelo Russell and Cam Thomas missing the game against Atlanta, someone other than Keon Johnson had to step up amongst the guards if Brooklyn had a chance to snap their 3-game losing streak. Martin was the player that Fernandez chose to be the starting point guard and he did not disappoint from the standpoint of being under control.

Martin did not necessarily lead the team in assists, but he did his job in not turning the ball over and he was able to make some tough shots against the Hawks. Martin put up 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 33 minutes while going up against Atlanta's guard tandem of Trae Young and Dyson Daniels, but Martin stepped up to the plate in the face of some tough competition.

Here's what Fernandez thought about how Martin played in the face of Russell having his right ankle managed:

"I don't know about D'Lo, whatever the case may be (with his ankle). The most important thing is the next game. Right now, Tyrese performed again at a high level. Shot the three well, he was good with the ball, six rebounds, just impressive. He had an amazing performance, just solid on both ends. His consistency is the best thing. Again, that's why he's part of our club. That's why we love him here."

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 122-114 win over the Hawks

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