BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Atlanta Hawks delivered an offensive clinic from the opening tip, overwhelming the Brooklyn Nets 141-107 in a one-sided NBA contest Friday night at Barclays Center.

The Hawks, solidifying their position in the Eastern Conference playoff race, improved to 45-33. The Nets, long eliminated from postseason contention, fell to 18-59 in front of an announced crowd of 17,548.

The most important part of the game was its decisive beginning. Atlanta established immediate and total control, rendering any notion of a Brooklyn upset moot within minutes. The Hawks opened the game on a blistering 13-0 run, capitalizing on a series of Nets turnovers and missed shots. The sequence was a microcosm of the evening: precise ball movement from Atlanta met with disjointed execution from Brooklyn.

CJ McCollum ignited the run with a three-pointer, and a dunk from Dyson Daniels forced a Brooklyn timeout just over a minute into the game. The stoppage did nothing to stem the tide. The Hawks’ defense was equally potent, generating steals and deflections that fueled their transition game. By the time Nicolas Claxton finally got the Nets on the board with a short jumper nearly three minutes in, the Hawks’ lead was already 13-2 and the outcome felt inevitable.

Atlanta’s offensive efficiency was staggering, particularly in the first half. They scored 35 points in the first quarter and followed with 36 in the second, taking a 71-55 lead into halftime. The lead ballooned in the fourth quarter as the Hawks poured in 43 points against a demoralized Nets defense.

The Hawks’ attack was balanced and relentless. Key performances came from throughout the roster, with the team shooting a high percentage from the floor, three-point range and the free-throw line, though specific percentages were not immediately available. Brooklyn, conversely, struggled to find consistent offense outside of brief flashes.

The game’s tenor was further cemented by a third-quarter incident that symbolized Brooklyn’s frustrating night. Nets forward Noah Clowney of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was ejected after receiving a technical foul during a double-technical assessment with Atlanta’s Mouhamed Gueye of Dakar, Senegal. The ejection of one of Brooklyn’s more active players only deepened the home team’s deficit and morale crisis.

For the Nets, the loss was another in a season defined by them. Despite occasional efforts from players like Clowney, Josh Minott of Boca Raton, Florida, and Malachi Smith, they were simply outclassed by a Hawks team operating with playoff intensity. Atlanta’s recent results show a team hitting its stride, having won 10 of its last 12 games, including dominant victories over several playoff-bound opponents.

The Hawks, who were installed as 15.5-point favorites pregame, easily covered the spread. The combined score of 248 points sailed over the projected over/under line of 224, almost entirely due to Atlanta’s prolific output.

National statistical models gave Atlanta an 87.1% probability to win, a forecast the Hawks fulfilled with a performance that was both methodical and explosive. The victory completed a three-game season sweep of the Nets, with Atlanta having won the previous meetings in March and February.

Atlanta now looks ahead to a critical stretch against Eastern Conference foes, beginning with a home game against the New York Knicks on Monday. The Nets, meanwhile, continue their season’s final week with a home game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday, searching for any positive momentum before the offseason.