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Horford, Hawks drop Nets

Mar 18, 2013 - 5:21 AM Brooklyn, NY (Sports Network) - Al Horford had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Atlanta Hawks' 105-93 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Josh Smith added 21 points, seven boards and five assists for the Hawks, who have won three straight games on the heels of dropping six of seven and snapped a five-game road losing streak.

"Now we're a game behind Brooklyn, so it was a big win for us. We're trying to be in the best possible position for the playoffs," Horford said.

Jeff Teague finished with 11 points and 15 helpers in the win. Atlanta outscored the Nets 34-20 in the fourth quarter.

Joe Johnson netted 18 points against his former team for Brooklyn, which had won four of its last five games coming in.

"We didn't defend. I don't think we defended for most of the game," Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

Reggie Evans added 14 points and 22 rebounds in defeat.

The Nets took a 73-71 lead into the final frame, but the Hawks began to pull away during the middle stages of the stanza.

After Deron Williams' bank shot knotted the tilt at 77-77 with 9:10 remaining, the Hawks countered with a 16-6 run. Ivan Johnson had five points during the burst, which was capped on a Horford jumper to make it 96-83 with 4:23 left.

Brooklyn never cut the deficit into single digits down the stretch.

The Nets took a 24-21 lead after a quarter of play, but Atlanta outscored them 30-25 in the second to take a 51-49 edge into the break.

Game Notes

The Hawks outscored the Nets 56-38 in the paint ... Williams registered 18 points and eight assists for Brooklyn ... There were 15 ties and 10 lead changes.