Harris scores 33 points, Nets beat Hawks for second time in two nights

ATLANTA -- Devin Harris' confidence is soaring, just like his scoring.

Harris scored 33 points, Vince Carter had 29 and the New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 119-107 on Saturday night, completing a sweep of the two-day, home-and-home series.

The Nets lost three straight while Harris was out with a sprained left ankle. He returned Friday night to score 30 points in a 115-108 victory over the Hawks at New Jersey.

Harris started out hot again on Saturday night, scoring 12 of the Nets' first 24 points.

"I'm in attack mode, commanding the paint," Harris said.

The Hawks were forced to foul as they tried to slow Harris on his drives, and he made 13 of 14 free throws.

"He had two great games against us," Atlanta's Al Horford said.

Harris, who added 10 assists, has three straight games with at least 30 points. He set a career high with 38 points against Detroit on Nov. 7 before the injury.

"Confidence does amazing things," Harris said as he tried to explain his sudden scoring surge.

"Maybe I wasn't being aggressive enough," he said. "Maybe I didn't fully understand what I needed to do. You never know until you try. The Detroit game kind of opened my eyes."

The Nets made 55 percent of their shots from the field (38 of 69) and set a season high in scoring for the second straight night.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said Harris "has been unbelievable."

"We had no answer for them from a defensive standpoint," Woodson said. "We've got to regroup the next time we play this team."

Carter sank five 3-pointers while scoring 19 points in the third quarter as the Nets stretched a 55-50 halftime lead to 85-73.

"I felt like it was time for me to be a little more aggressive," Carter said. "Once I got rolling it was like the basket was as big as the ocean."

Harris and Carter combined to make 19 of 33 shots, going 7-of-11 on 3-pointers.

"Obviously, our backcourt was tremendous," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "It's a good moment and it's something we have to build on. To play the same team twice and get a win both times, it's a nice mark for us."

Joe Johnson scored 31 points for Atlanta, which has lost three straight after a 6-0 start.

The Hawks played their fifth straight game without forward Josh Smith, who has a sprained left ankle. Center Zaza Pachulia was held out with a sore left shoulder.

"There's no need to panic," Woodson said. "We've still got a couple key guys out. They're a big part of what we do. We just can't have games like we did tonight. We looked fatigued."

The Hawks allowed an average of 85.8 points in their first five games but have since given up more than 100 points in four straight.

"We've lost some of our defensive swagger, intensity or whatever you want to call it," Woodson said.

Marvin Williams and Flip Murray each had 14 points and Horford added 12.

Maurice Evans made his second start for Atlanta but scored only seven points in 28 minutes.

The Nets led 31-30 early in the second quarter before scoring 14 straight points, including eight by Keyon Dooling, for a 45-30 advantage. The Hawks recovered with a 12-0 run later in the quarter.

Ryan Anderson had 17 points for New Jersey.

Game notes
The Hawks' frustrations grew as the Nets stretched their lead in the final period. Johnson was called for a technical foul with 6:23 left, and Woodson soon drew a technical as he continued to complain from the bench. ... New Jersey F Jarvis Hayes had 14 points before suffering back spasms when he landed awkwardly following a collision with teammate Brook Lopez with 4:48 left. Hayes was escorted to the locker room and did not return, but the injury is not thought to be serious.