Feb. 21, 2026, 11:03 p.m. ET

The Brooklyn Nets have not had the kind of outings they were hoping for coming out of the All-Star break as they’ve lost both of their games by double digits. Brooklyn knows that they will have to play at their best if they’re going to be some of the better teams ahead on their schedule, but the good news is that their usual starting lineup should be back together.

The Nets announced on Saturday that center Nic Claxton is available for Sunday’s game at the Atlanta Hawks after missing the past two games due to an ankle injury. Claxton had missed Brooklyn’s last game prior to the All-Star break when they lost to the Indiana Pacers 115-110 on Feb. 11, but that was due to a hip injury instead of the ankle injury that he picked up during practice on Wednesday.

Claxton, 26, is in the midst of the best season of his career as he’s averaging 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 59.0% from the field and 60.7% from the free-throw line. With Claxton out of the lineup for the past three games, the Nets have turned to backup center Day’Ron Sharpe to pick up the slack in the starting lineup and he didn’t disappoint.

In place of Claxton in the starting lineup over the last three games, Sharpe is averaging 11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 62.5% from the floor. With Claxton back in the lineup, Sharpe should be able to bring his elite per-minute production off the bench, giving the Nets a better chance of winning the minutes played by the second unit.

The only injury of note that Brooklyn will be dealing with heading into Sunday’s game at the Hawks is forward Ziaire Williams remaining out of the rotation due to personal reasons. With Williams out of the lineup for the time being, players like Jalen Wilson and Ochai Agbaji should see more time off the bench, especially as head coach Jordi Fernandez is trying to see where Agbaji stands into the rotation at this point in the season.

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