Instant Takeaways From Atlanta's Comeback Victory vs Brooklyn in Summer League Play

The Hawks get a tough victory against the Nets in a close one.

Jan 2, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Asa Newell (14) warms up prior to the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlanta Hawks came into this game as winners of three straight after having two back-to-back Summer League double-digit victories. Tonight, however, things wouldn't be as easy, as the Brooklyn Nets were ahead for much of the game until the fourth quarter, when the Hawks were able to get things going to seal the victory.

Let's take a look at some takeaways from this game.

1. Atlanta struggled with Brooklyn's approach

Early on, Brooklyn put a lot of pressure on Atlanta, forcing them into 11 first-half turnovers and leaving Kingston Flemings gassed after the first quarter, when he spoke with ESPN's sideline reporter.

Offensively, the Nets were able to get out on the fast break and finish easily around the basket in the half-court offense. However, shooting from beyond the arc for the Nets came back to bite them in the second half, as the Hawks would begin to go on a run of their own.

One of the players who stuck out in terms of giving problems to Atlanta was Chaney Johnson, as he would get to the basket with ease and finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, and shot 50% from three-point range.

2. Kingston Flemings

While Flemings got off to a nice start, he did not enjoy that same level of success after the first half, as the Nets were able to take him out of the game for the Hawks. In the first half, Flemings finished with nine points, three assists, two rebounds, one block, and an eye-popping four turnovers.

Mainly, the Nets focused on pressuring Flemings full-court, which took away from his speed and playmaking for his teammates. Flemings finished stat-wise struggling, as he scored nine points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, had one block, and had six turnovers.

While Flemings started out shooting 57% in the first half, he finished shooting 0-for-4 and went scoreless in the second half. However, Flemings was shown coaching up his teammates with encouragement to continue getting to their spots so he could create easy baskets for them, which he did.

3. Second half response

Atlanta had a solid response to the Nets in the second half of play after getting things going offensively. After struggling with taking care of the basketball in the first half with four turnovers, Atlanta responded by cutting their turnovers down to four and finishing with

While the starting lineup struggled to get going with only Zuby Ejiofor scoring 13 points, the Atlanta bench got things going as the Hawks finished with three guys scoring in double figures.

Kobe Johnson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Zeke Mayo finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and three steals. Isaiah Wong finished with 10 points, two rebounds, and one block, as all three players led the way for Atlanta's bench.