Final Score Picks and Predictions For Tonight's Hawks-Nets Matchup

Can the Hawks avoid a slip up tonight on the road against Brooklyn?

Mar 12, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) looks for a pass against Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The NBA regular season is drawing to a close and for the Atlanta Hawks, they have only five games left to secure their spot among the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference, but they enter tonight's game against the Brooklyn Nets with a 1.5 game lead on the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 5 seed in the East.

The Nets on the other hand are wishing they could simulate to the end of the season and find out their draft spot in May. After a somewhat competitive start to the season (I use that term loosely), Brooklyn has done everything they can to ensure they are among the worst teams in the NBA and positioned well for the draft lotter next month.

For this game tonight, Atlanta is going to be missing backup center Jock Landale while the Nets are going to be missing Michael Porter Jr and rookie forward Danny Wolf.

Matchup Preview

Apr 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) reacts after a basket against the Orlando Magic in the third quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Since the NBA All-Star break, the Hawks own an 18-3 record, the third-most wins amongst all teams in the NBA over that time: San Antonio (21), Oklahoma City (19), Atlanta (18) ... Per Elias Sports, this is just the sixth season in franchise history the Hawks have won at least 18 games over a 21-game stretch and the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.

Atlanta is coming off a 130-101 win over the Magic in Orlando on 4/1, marking the team's 21st road victory of the season, its most road wins in a single season in the 2015-16 campaign (also 21). In 38 road contests this season, the Hawks are averaging 10.13 steals per game, the second-most in the league and the most in the East, forcing 16.7 turnovers per game, the second-most in the NBA and most in the East, while averaging 21.3 points off turnovers, also the second-best in the NBA and best in the East. Atlanta owns a 113.8 defensive rating in road contests this season, the ninth-best in the league.

The Hawks have shown the ability to completely take over games in a quarter alone, like they did on Wednesday.

In the second quarter of Atlanta's victory over Orlando, the Hawks outscored the Magic 47-26 (+21), tied for the most points in a single quarter this season, while the +21 marked the second-most in a single quarter this season. Nickeil Alexander-Walker poured in 17 of Atlanta's 47 second quarter points on 6-8 shooting from the field, in addition to a 3-5 clip from deep and 2-2 from the charity stripe, marking his fourth career quarter with 17+ points.

Alexander-Walker finished Atlanta's win with a game-high 32 points on 11-16 shooting from the floor, including 5-9 from three-point territory and a 5-6 mark from the free throw line, in addition to four rebounds, one assist, three steals, and one block in 33 minutes of play. Prior to this season, he had scored at least 30 points five times. Wednesday night's game marked his ninth 30-point performance of the season. Alexander-Walker, who owns 72 double-digit scoring games this season, trailing only Julius Randle (74) and Kevin Durant (73) for the most in the league, has knocked down a career-best 233 triples.

The Virginia Tech product is currently tied with Trae Young (233, 2021-22) for the second-most three-pointers in a single season in franchise history and seven shy from tying Bogdan Bogdanovic (240, 2023-24) for the most makes from deep in a single season in team history.

Jalen Johnson is coming off of his 46th double-double of the season on 4/1, the third-most double-doubles in the NBA, finishing with 18 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes of action. The 6-9 forward owns 548 total assists this season, the third-most in the NBA. With his seventh assist of the game, Johnson surpassed Pete Maravich (546, 79 games, 1972-73) for the 18th-most assists in a single season in club history.

He already owns the most assists by a forward in a single season in team history and is 12 shy from tying Trae Young (560, 2019-20) for the 17th-most in franchise history and 13 away from Walt Hazzard's 561 assists in the 1969-70 campaign (16th).

No win should be taken for granted in the NBA, but there is no way with a mostly healthy roster and plenty to play for that I see the Hawks not being able to win this game.

Final Score: Hawks 135, Nets 107