The Atlanta Hawks (27-19) defeated the Denver Nuggets (17-28) 119-105 on Monday night.
There wasn’t much that was going to stop Atlanta tonight, as they were clicking on all cylinders. The offense was especially good, as they shot 50 percent from the field and 92 percent from the free-throw line. The Hawks won nearly every battle in the stat sheet, as they outassisted the Nuggets by 10 and held them to under 40 percent shooting in the win. They also recorded 28 assists on 43 made baskets and were distributing the ball beautifully all night. A 35-20 second quarter was a big difference in the game as well, as the Hawks never let the Nuggets get much closer after that.
Atlanta was favored by double-digits in their last game and had a brutal loss to the Phoenix Suns. What oddsmakers didn’t take into consideration is that they were missing Paul Millsap for that game and this shows why he is so important. It's not just the 22 points and nine rebounds, it's the way he plays defense and opens things up for the rest of the offense. The point guards were fantastic for the Hawks tonight as well, as Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder combined for 27 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists in the win. The five starters combined for 10 steals as well, which was big considering they scored 24 points off turnovers in the victory. Atlanta will look to keep up the good form against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
This capped off an eight-game homestand for the Nuggets, and the 4-4 record is nothing to be disappointed about. This was easily their worst game in that stretch though, as this game was non-competitive for the majority of the contest. Will Barton was the lone bright spot in the defeat, as he scored 21 points and snatched down eight boards in the loss. Danilo Gallinari has been carrying this team on his back over recent weeks, but he went just 3-for-9 from the field in a 15-point outing. The shooting is bad, but nine shots is simply not enough out of a player like Gallinari for the Nuggets to succeed. Denver will look to bounce back on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics in their first road game in quite some time.
