The Atlanta Hawks took Game 1 of their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets, but endured another late season injury that will not make the championship chase any easier.
Al Horford dislocated his right pinky in the fourth quarter and although he was able to return to the game, he played with his hand heavily wrapped. Paul Millsap, who was dealing with a shoulder sprain at the end of the regular season, shot 2-for-11 and finished with six points. The Hawks used the hot shooting of Kyle Korver (5-for-11 from three-point land), Jeff Teague and DeMarre Carroll to ward off the Nets.
According to TiqIQ.com, Atlanta Hawks tickets for Game 2 at Philips Arena have an average price of $131.34 with a get-in price of $28. Prices skyrocket for Games 6 and 7, where the average ticket prices are $606.10 and $1,115.52 respectively. The get-in prices for the final two homes games are $77 and $52. Atlanta’s fans have been superb all season; so don’t be surprised to see them at the Barclays Center. Fans can use Hipmunk.com for flights to and from New York City to take in as much Hawks basketball as possible. Hotels in Brooklyn can be found on Hipmunk starting from $40. It may be cheaper to check out a game in Brooklyn if the series goes past five games.
The Hawks had double-digit leads on multiple occasions but could never quite put the Nets away. Credit to Brooklyn, as Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez did most of the heavy lifting, but the team could not hit from the three-point area, which was the difference. Korver hit as many threes as the Nets team, who shot 5-for-20.
The Hawks received a nice boost for Dennis Schroder off the bench, scoring 13 points of 5-of-9 shooting. Atlanta also was nearly perfect from the free-throw line, making 21 out of a possible 22 attempts.
It may not be as important in this series against the Nets, but the Hawks will struggle to make a deep playoff run without Millsap or Horford being effective. Horford has yet to say if he will play in Game 2 and admit that the finger bothered him down the stretch.
Look for this Hawks unit to only get better as they ease back from their starters having days off towards the end of the season.
