Nets shoot down Hawks for third straight win

The Brooklyn Nets matched their season high for consecutive victories when they recorded a third triumph in a row with a hard-fought 91-86 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Joe Johnson scored a game-high 23 points and Mirza Teletovic added 16 points off the bench for the Nets, who also won three straight games from December 7-12.

Elsewhere, Kevin Love scored 26 points while Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and 14 rebounds as the power forward duo helped Minnesota roll to a 126-95 lop-sided victory that ended Philadelphia’s season-high four-game winning streak.

Love went 4-for-7 from three-point range, part of a 16-for-26 barrage by Minnesota from distance. Kevin Martin, who finished with 18 points, sank three three-pointers, as did Corey Brewer and JJ Barea.

The Los Angeles Clippers tightened up on defense, allowing the Orlando Magic to hit just one of their first 12 shots and routing the visitors 101-81.

The Magic shot just 35.7 percent in the game and had eight of their shots blocked by DeAndre Jordan.

The Clippers centre added 14 points and 17 rebounds.