The Atlanta Hawks beat the Denver Nuggets 117-106 on Wednesday night. Here’s what stood out from the win.
The Atlanta Hawks didn’t have to come back from a 20-point deficit. The Atlanta Hawks also didn’t blow a 20-point lead. Atlanta took care of business on Wednesday evening, securing the victory over the Denver Nuggets 117-106.
The Hawks got off to a roaring start, which is a welcome change from their performance of late. After one half of play Atlanta held a 72-55 lead. 72 points in a single half is unheard of for this Hawks team.
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In the first half Atlanta shot 54.9 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range on 7-for-15 shooting. Their offense was clicking on all cylinders. Dennis Schroder led them in the half with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
They cooled off in the second half, finishing the game shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent from outside. Still, that hot start may have won them the game. The Nuggets staged a fourth quarter comeback, but the deficit was just too large for them to overcome. Sometimes you get halfway up the mountain and fall off. Denver learned the hard away.
They attempted to shoot themselves back into the game, but that didn’t exactly pay off. Denver shot 13-for-44 from three-point range and just 40 percent overall. Nikola Jokic didn’t have his most efficient performance, but he still showed why he’s a budding superstar. Jokic finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and three assists. He even knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Wilson Chandler paced the Nuggets with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting. His hot shooting in the fourth quarter helped trim Atlanta’s lead to four points before the Hawks eventually pulled away. Denver didn’t have enough offensive firepower to dig themselves out of that large hole.
Dennis Schroder finished his evening with 24 points and 10 assists on 10-for-19 shooting. Paul Millsap had his usual “jack of all trades” performance, finishing the game with 23 points, six boards, and five assists.
Still filling in for the injured Thabo Sefolosha, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting. It wasn’t very efficient, but Hardaway’s aggressiveness is always a positive. If he brings that mentality back to the second unit when Sefolosha returns the Hawks will be in a very good place. Hardaway also finished a few rim-rattling dunks, two were alley-oops off of impressive passes from Dennis Schroder. Sharing is caring.
Seven Hawks scored in double figures, including Dwight Howard. Howard recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Howard, as always, is a double-double machine.
Mike Budenholzer was pleased with Atlanta’s offensive performance. In this quote from Chris Vivlamore’s recap in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he comments on the way his team played offensively.
"“I liked the way we were taking care of the ball,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of the Hawks’ start. “We were moving it. We were getting out in transition. Guys were sharing it. A lot of assists. They were going hard to the offensive boards. Sometimes it’s a battle. When they are sending that many guys and putting that much pressure on the offensive board, if we could get the rebound we felt like we could get out in transition.”"
Also from Vivlamore’s recap, Paul Millsap talks about how Atlanta almost let their 20-point lead slip away.
"“First off, those things can’t happen,” Paul Millsap said. “We have to do a better job of closing teams out. If you have a 20-point lead at home, we have to do a better job of putting our foot on their throats and getting them out of the game.”"
The anchorman knows how to close, and his fourth quarter play prevented the Hawks from melting down completely. In the end, Atlanta got a much needed win and that’s what is important. At the end of the day all that matters is how many wins you have, not how you secured those wins.
The Hawks will now hit the road for a west coast road trip. They’ll battle the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Los Angeles Clippers before the All-Star break. At 31-22, Atlanta is comfortably wedged into a playoff spot.
Next: Hawks Eye View Episode 1
There’s still plenty of basketball to be played, but only a monumental collapse (or a trade) would leave them on the outside looking in at this point.