Atlanta led by 16 at halftime and extended the lead to 26 during a third-quarter spurt, taking advantage of a weary team playing back-to-back games and its fourth game in six nights.
"They ran it down our throats all night," Nets Coach P. J. Carlesimo said. "We played like a team that got in late and was tired, but that doesn't give Atlanta their due."
The Nets could be excused for being overconfident. Not only had they won 9 of 10 since Carlesimo took over as coach last month, but the Hawks were as frigid as the Nets were scalding.
Atlanta had lost six of its last seven, including a 39-point beating in Chicago on Monday. Another mismatch seemed imminent after the Hawks announced the suspension of their leading scorer, forward Josh Smith, before the game, stemming from an undisclosed incident at a practice Tuesday.
Instead, Atlanta dominated from the tipoff, taking advantage of the Nets' lethargy. The Hawks hit 8 of their first 11 shots, scoring more points in the opening two minutes than they did in the entire first quarter in Chicago, when they mustered an embarrassing 5 points, a franchise low.
On Wednesday, a much different Atlanta team shot a season-high 57.7 percent. Six players scored in double figures.
Point guard Deron Williams, who played 43 minutes in the Nets' win over Toronto on Tuesday, was beaten repeatedly on the break and off the dribble by Atlanta guards Devin Harris and Jeff Teague. Teague scored 28 points on 12-for-18 shooting, and Harris chipped in with 18 points.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 22 points, hitting 10 of 14 shots. The other Nets combined to make only 27 of 73 attempts.
"They had a different gear, a different motor, than we did," Williams said. "We were never really in sync, and a lot of our shots went short."
The blowout ruined Joe Johnson's return to Atlanta. Johnson spent seven productive seasons with the Hawks, but subpar performances in the postseason, combined with his enormous salary, meant that his trade was greeted with relief that neared glee in Georgia.
Johnson floated through the game, confounded by frequent double teams that took him out of the offensive flow. "We didn't make the proper reads," he said. "We didn't seem to know where to be when they trapped."
Johnson made his first field goal with five minutes left in the first half, and he finished with 15 points. He was greeted with a mix of boos and cheers, reflecting his lukewarm relationship with Atlanta fans. A chant of "We don't miss you!" rang out as he shot a free throw in the second period.
"It didn't surprise me," Johnson said of the reaction. "I blocked that out. I just wanted us to play well as a team, and we didn't do that."
The Hawks had a 41-37 edge in rebounds, paced by 13 from Al Horford, who added 17 points for his 20th double-double of the season. More surprising was the effort from Smith's replacement, center Zaza Pachulia, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
A sequence early in the second half displayed the difference in effort between the teams. Teague broke wide open off a screen seconds into the third quarter. Moments later, Harris converted an easy three-on-one as the Nets watched from the other side of the floor. On the next possession, Teague raced down the floor to take an outlet pass for an uncontested layup. That made the score 62-42, and the rout was on. Carlesimo called timeout, but he was unable to stop the damage or rouse his team to match Atlanta's intensity.
The teams meet again Friday night at Barclays Center, and Smith is expected to be back in uniform. Carlesimo noted that the Nets' last loss occurred in a blowout on New Year's Eve in San Antonio. "We bounced back well," he said. "We've got to do it again."
Johnson added: "It's not about the Hawks. I expect a different Nets team Friday night."
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