NBA Playoff Betting – (8) Nets at (1) Hawks (Game 5)

Brooklyn Nets at Atlanta Hawks (-9, 200 o/u)

Not many believed the Brooklyn Nets (2-2, 0-2 away) could contend in their first-round series with the number-one seeded Atlanta Hawks (2-2, 2-0 home). But the Nets held serve at home in Games 3 and 4 to level things at two games apiece. Tonight, the series shifts back to Atlanta for Game 5 at Philips Arena (7:00 PM Eastern).

Not only have the Nets won the last two games straight-up, they are also 4-0 against the spread in this series.

Star point guard Deron Williams, who was extremely quiet through the first trio of games, game up huge for Brooklyn in Game 4, posting a team-high 35 points in the 120-115 OT win.

“I think we’ve been rallying around each other the last month or so,” Williams said. “Definitely the guys rallied around me and it means a lot. It just shows we’re definitely coming together as a unit. It’s taken longer than we thought, but it’s happening.”

The Hawks knew it was only a matter of time before Williams found his stride in the series.

“We understand and we know that Deron’s capable of doing that,” said Atlanta forward Al Horford. “You can only contain that type of player for so long. He had three not-so-great games … He came out [Monday] and he was the difference.”

Atlanta played well on offense in the loss, getting at least 16 points from all five starters and dishing out 27 assists as a team. But the defense struggled all night, allowing Brooklyn to shoot over 45-percent from beyond the arc.

Brooklyn is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games on the road against Atlanta, but the Hawks are 1-5 ATS in their last six at home against the Nets.

With the Nets getting nine points tonight, taking Brooklyn plus the points looks like the better option.

(Photo credit: Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)