Jarrett Jack’s defensive moves with nearly 30 seconds left in regulation panicked Atlanta’s Schroder

The Brooklyn Nets have been off to a rough start for the 2015-15 NBA Season. However, last night offered a glimpse of hope. The Nets toughed it out and survived a nail-biting, 90-88 win over the Atlanta Hawks, one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. And they did it all on the defensive end of the court when it counted the most.

After Jarrett Jack drained a jumper, tying the game at 88-all with 33.3 seconds until the end of regulation, Jack nearly forced a turnover from Hawks, Dennis Schroder on the ensuing possession. With the Hawks shot-clock expiring, Jack's defense compelled Schroder to dribble into no man's land, using the baseline as an extra defender. A panicking Schroder almost lost the ball and had to resort to a rushed floater, which was rebounded by Paul Millsap, who was blocked by Brook Lopez, on his attempt to tie the game.

The Nets defense, when it was needed the most, got a stop, giving the team an opportunity to win the game, which was executed by Thaddeus Young, who sank two free-throws after being fouled on the fastbreak. And that particular sequence involving Schroder mirrored the entire game. Atlanta's, Spurs-like makeup of a team scored 10-less points than they are used to, averaging 101.6 points per game, the 11th best in the league, according to ESPN.com.

Mike Budenholzer's team committed 20 turnovers, the most they've committed this year in a single game.

"I give Brooklyn credit," said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. "They played well. They forced the turnovers. We didn't take care of the ball. So we're going to have to clean that up."

The win, which improved the Nets record to (2-9), exhibited the solution to their season, which has been disastrous to say the least and it all derives from the defensive side of the ball.

As a team, the Nets racked up 14 steals and seven blocks which are the type of production that will help the Nets remain in games against teams with superior talent. Although their defense was the star of the game, five players scored in double figures, led by Lopez's double-double, 24-10. Shane Larkin, in his first season with the Nets, had another great game, posting 14 points and Joe Johnson nearly reached a triple-double in 13 points, 9 assists, and seven rebounds.