Nets stagger to finish line but pull out win over Hawks to end 6-1 homestand

It took a two-week homestand and seven games, but the Nets finally might be traveling the anticipated arc of an NBA contender.

They weren’t exactly inspiring in the fourth quarter on Friday night as they blew a lead they had held since the second period. Still, they pulled out a 120-116 victory over the Hawks at Barclays Center to finish 6-1 on their homestand and move to 15-12, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

“It was big possessions and winning plays,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “It’s just the opponent that night and whatever it’s going to take to win . . . Our [late] execution was pretty good and overall, a 6-1 homestand [is] pretty good.”

Perhaps more important, the team is close to becoming whole with Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren returning from injuries. Simmons returned to face Atlanta after missing four games with a calf strain. Warren got back Dec. 2 after missing all of 2021-22 and the first 23 games this season while working back from a foot fracture.

Kevin Durant scored 34 points (14-for-25 shooting) and Kyrie Irving had 33 (11-for-21 shooting) and 11 rebounds. Warren had 14 points off the bench, shooting 6-for-8, and Simmons had six points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Vaughn said Simmons accelerated the team’s pace of play and “we were getting open threes and guys get different looks.”

Asked about Warren, Durant said he “just finds his way with the basketball to the basket. . . . He looked good tonight and is going to get even better as he gets more comfortable.”

Trae Young scored 33 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 31 for Atlanta (13-13).

Though Atlanta was playing without second-, third- and fourth-leading scorers Dejounte Murray (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (hip) and John Collins (ankle), the Hawks — who had trailed by 12 points — took the lead shortly after Durant re-entered the game with 6:45 to play.

Onyeka Okongwu had a tip-in and a putback for a 107-103 Hawks lead with 5:29 left, but Durant’s three-pointer with 3:17 to play gave the Nets a 111-109 edge. They pushed the margin to four points when Durant found a cutting Joe Harris on a break for a reverse layup. When Harris found Durant for a three-pointer with 1:09 to play, the Nets were up 116-111.

With the Nets leading 116-113 in the final minute, they got a pair of offensive rebounds from Irving and Royce O’Neale before Seth Curry made a pair of free throws for a five-point lead with 10 seconds left.

Irving had four offensive rebounds and O’Neale three in the fourth quarter alone.

“You rarely see us do stuff like that because we’re so small,” Durant said. “But they put their nose in there and got some rebounds and created some extra possessions for us.”

Said Irving: “I was doing whatever it takes to win.”

Notes & quotes: Simmons will not play Saturday against the Pacers in Indiana as the Nets take his return cautiously. Warren also will not play against the Pacers, but Yuta Watanabe, who missed his 10th straight game with a hamstring issue, is expected to return . . . . Durant, who was second in the league in average minutes played entering Friday, played 36 minutes against the Hawks. Reducing his time on the court has become a priority, and Vaughn suggested that maintaining focus with a lead is essential. He said, “Can you stay engaged in the course of the game and maybe Kevin can have the fourth quarter off? That’s the challenge to this group.’’ Neither Vaughn nor Durant committed to having him play against the Pacers. “They have my best interests at heart,” Durant said . . . Nic Claxton missed the game with right hamstring discomfort that the team didn’t deem serious enough to send him for testing.

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.