Hawks try to move past Schroder, Howard tiff vs. Nets

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks go from playing the team with the best record in the NBA to the team with the worst, but they certainly can't afford to take the Brooklyn Nets lightly on Wednesday night.

The Nets actually have a better record during their season-long eight-game road trip than the Hawks do in their season-long six-game homestand.

Brooklyn (11-51) won 122-109 against the Grizzlies in Memphis on Monday to improve to 2-4 on the trip, while Atlanta (34-29) fell to 1/3 during their home stretch with a 119-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

The Hawks have lost three in a row and six of their past eight games, and all is hardly harmonious on the slumping team.

Dennis Schroder was benched for the rest of the game after exchanging heated words with Dwight Howard on the court and then coach Mike Budenholzer in the third quarter.

Schroder scored 19 of his 24 points in the first quarter as the Hawks jumped ahead of Golden State early before being done in by the Warriors' 3-point shooting. One of the treys came while Schroder and Howard argued.

"We've got to stay together and find a way to move on to the next play," Budenholzer said after the game. "Those things are important."

"I don't understand coach's decision. I want to be on the court," Schroder said of the benching. "Maybe I'm too competitive. I'm just trying to be competitive and win games."

"Wish it didn't happen but it did," Howard said. "Hopefully, everyone will just let it go and move on."

A meeting will attempt to hash things out before the Nets game.

"We have to figure it out, me and coach," Schroder said. "I want to talk about it. Dwight's got to be in there too. Get on the same page."

It was the third time that Schroder has been disciplined lately. He was suspended a game for being late returning from Germany after the All-Star break and then held out of the starting lineup for the next game after missing a team bus.

"Listen, we are a team right?" Howard said. "It's OK if we have conversations. It's not always conflict when you have a conversation with your coach or a team meeting. That's what you are supposed to do."

The Nets, who lost to 117-97 to the Hawks at home on Jan. 10, snapped a 16-game losing streak with a victory at Sacramento last Wednesday and followed that up with the win at Memphis.

Brooklyn is still a dismal 4-27 on the road, but at least this trip hasn't been the death march it feared.

Sean Kilpatrick scored 23 points against the Grizzlies, hitting 16 of 17 free throws, and Jeremy Lin scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.

"We want to develop a nastiness about us. We want to develop a toughness about us," Lin said afterwards. "Hopefully, we can continue to build on this."

The Hawks have won four straight over the Nets in Atlanta. The teams play again at Philips Arena on March 26 and then in Brooklyn on April 2.

The Nets complete their marathon road trip against the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday, while the Hawks conclude their homestand the same night against the Toronto Raptors.

The Brooklyn trip, caused by the circus and then the ACC Tournament being at the Barclays Center, covers about 8,100 miles over 16 days.