EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jamal Crawford hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to cap his game-breaking, 15-point second quarter and the Atlanta Hawks ran away from the woeful New Jersey Nets 108-84 on Tuesday night.
Crawford, the NBA scoring leader (17.5) among players who have not started a game, finished with 25 points in leading Atlanta to its third straight win.
Marvin Williams added 15 points for the Hawks, who rolled while playing without Joe Johnson for the first time this season. The All-Star guard has Achilles' tendinitis and did not accompany the team for its two-game road trip. Al Horford finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Brook Lopez had 21 points for the Nets, who lost for the 60th time in 67 games. New Jersey needs to win three times in its last 15 games to avoid tying or breaking the NBA mark for fewest wins (nine) in a season, set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers.
Point guard Devin Harris missed the contest with an upper respiratory illness and the Nets did not have the depth to replace him in losing their fifth in a row.
Josh Boone had a season-high 13 points and a career-best 20 rebounds as New Jersey lost its 12th straight at home, extending the team mark. The 20 rebounds were the top total by a Net this season.
The game was close for 20 minutes. Crawford then took over.
The former Knick hit three straight jumpers to ignite a half-closing 19-5 spurt that gave the Hawks a 55-39 lead. He had 13 of the 19 points in the run that he capped with a nothing-but-net 3-pointer after he rushed the ball upcourt following a missed free throw by Lopez with 5.8 seconds to go.
Crawford hit 7 of 10 shots in the period, with the last one being his only 3-pointer.
Atlanta increased its lead to 20 points after three quarters and was never threatened in the final period.
Notes
Boone's previous rebound high was 17. … The Hawks won all three games with New Jersey this season. … Hawks coach Mike Woodson was a member of the Nets when the team moved into the then Brendan Byrne Arena (now Izod Center) for the 1981-82 season. He was traded in the opening weeks of the season. … Hawks forward Joe Smith appeared in his 1,000th career game, becoming the 93rd player in NBA history to hit the milestone. … Johnson's injury marked only the 15th game lost to injury this season for Atlanta, the lowest total in the league this season. Rookie Jeff Teague started for Johnson. … Nets rookie Terrence Williams was called for a flagrant foul in the closing seconds trying to prevent a dunk by Maurice Evans.