Head coach Avery Johnson challenged Brook Lopez and Devin Harris to step up and lead the New Jersey Nets.
The two seem to have responded. Lopez led the Nets with a season-high 32 points and 9 rebounds, while Harris added 27 points and 9 assists to help down the Atlanta Hawks 107-101 in overtime at the Prudential Center.
New Jersey had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Harris' contested jumper at the buzzer drew the front of the iron.
Jamal Crawford paced the Hawks off the bench with 21 points and Josh Smith chipped in 20 points and seven rebounds.
The Nets never trailed in the game, but were unable to put the Hawks away until the final minute of overtime. The Nets extended Atlanta's losing streak to three games while ending their own slide at the same number.
Lopez was able to rebound from a rough West Coast road trip that ended with him missing a game-tying layup in the final seconds of the Nets loss to the Denver Nuggets.
New Jersey won't be able to savor this victory for long as they have Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the Celtics waiting for them tomorrow night in Boston.