NEW YORK: Atlanta finished off a stubborn Brooklyn with a 111-87 win on Friday that gave the Hawks a 4-2 victory in a 1st seed vs. 8th seed NBA Eastern Conference series that was tougher than expected.

Paul Millsap had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who raced ahead with a powerhouse third quarter.

"We believe," forward DeMarre Carroll said, "and we believe that when we are playing the right way, as you seen tonight, we can beat anybody."

Kyle Korver added 20 points and hit three of his six 3-pointers during a series-deciding run as the Hawks turned a six-point halftime lead into the only blowout of the series. The East's No. 1 seed has a quick turnaround before facing Washington on Sunday in its second-round opener.

"We didn't play that well the first three games. I didn't think we had our edge," Korver said. "Coming here and losing two kind of woke of us."

Atlanta won the final two games and left no doubt about this one after beginning the second half with a 23-3 blitz that made it 74-48, opening as big a gap on the scoreboard as there was between the teams in the standings. The Hawks were 60-22 in the regular season and the Nets were only 38-44 as the last team to qualify for the postseason, but Atlanta had outscored Brooklyn by just nine points through the first five games.

The Nets looked as if they would keep this one close after recovering from the Hawks' strong start, but Atlanta wouldn't let that happen.

Brook Lopez scored 19 points for the Nets, who had saved first-round elimination with Game 6 victories in each of the last two years. But a lethargic start to the third quarter ended any hopes of taking the series back to Atlanta on Sunday.

"We thought we put up a great effort against this team that's the best in the East," Nets guard Deron Williams said.

Williams had two turnovers that started Atlanta fast breaks in the opening minutes of the third as the Hawks started with an 8-0 spurt that made it 59-45. Williams then made a 3-pointer, but the Hawks ripped off the next 15 points, opening a 26-point bulge midway through the period.

"You could just see they had the wave of momentum that they weren't going to let up," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said.

The Hawks won the East so handily after building a big cushion with their 17-0 January that they were able to give their starters plenty of rest approaching the postseason, though that contributed to them not clicking when the playoffs started.

Thunder introduce new coach Billy Donovan

Billy Donovan says he considers it a privilege to coach Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Donovan was introduced as the Thunder's new coach Friday, a day after he was hired.

The pressure will be on immediately — the Thunder have been successful but haven't won a title since moving to Oklahoma City in 2008-09. Donovan says he hopes to build on what Scott Brooks accomplished the previous seven years.

Durant is the 2013-14 MVP and Westbrook the 2014-15 scoring champion.

The 49-year-old Donovan led Florida to two national championships, four Final Fours and seven Elite Eights in 19 seasons. He jokes that he's coached in the league before. Eight years ago, he was hired by the Orlando Magic, only to change his mind the following day.

Warriors GM Bob Myers voted NBA's executive of the year

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers has been voted the NBA's executive of the year after assembling a roster that won a franchise-record 67 games and earned the top playoff seed.

Myers received 13 first-place votes and 82 total points from a panel of fellow league executives. Cleveland's David Griffin was second with eight first-place votes and 69 points. And Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, who has overseen basketball operations since general manager Danny Ferry's racially charged comments, finished third with four first-place votes and 36 points.

Most of Myers' best work with the Warriors came before this season, when he didn't make any trades. He has surrounded star Stephen Curry with a talented roster that could compete for championships for several years.