NBA Game Preview - Denver at Atlanta
Mon Jan 6, 2020 7:30 PM EST

IND
115
CHA
104
F
BOS
94
WAS
99
F
OKC
113
PHI
120
F
BKN
89
ORL
101
F
DEN
123
ATL
115
F
UTA
128
NO
126
F
MIL
104
SA
126
F
CHI
110
DAL
118
F
GS
98
SAC
111
F
Upstart Hawks bid for third straight win over Nuggets
Sun Jan 5, 2020 4:51 PM

The Atlanta Hawks will be looking for their third straight win over Denver when they host the Nuggets on Monday.

Atlanta has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 125-121 victory in their first contest this season on Nov. 12 in Denver. The Hawks have won nine of the past 11 meetings against Denver in Atlanta.

The Hawks, who have the worst record in the league, have won two of their last three games after defeating the Indiana Pacers 116-111 on Saturday. The victory came without three important pieces of their lineup because of injuries or illness -- John Collins (lower back soreness), Jabari Parker (throat infection) and Cam Reddish (wrist).

The win marked the first time Atlanta has won the second half of a back-to-back in eight tries this season.

The Nuggets are coming off a 128-114 loss to the Washington Wizards, who were playing without four of their regulars. Not even a 39-point effort from Jamal Murray could offset the lackluster effort that caused Denver to fall to 1-2 on its five-game road trip.

"We didn't show up," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "That was embarrassing. That was an embarrassing performance. We had a mindset that we're just going to show up and win the game maybe because some of their starters were (out). ... We got our (butts) kicked."

Atlanta continues to ride the offensive coattails of point guard Trae Young. He scored 41 points on Saturday, the fifth time he has scored 40-plus points this season. He set a career high with 30 points in the first half, becoming the first Atlanta player to accomplish that feat since Stephen Jackson in 2004.

Young, who is averaging 28.8 points and 8.3 assists, recorded 42 and 11, respectively, in the first meeting with Denver this season.

The Hawks on Saturday also got a career-high 26-point performance from Kevin Huerter, 12 of them coming in the third quarter to help prevent Indiana from taking control of the game. He is averaging 20.6 points over the last three games.

"We had a couple guys out again and a couple guys just weren't shooting very well," Huerter said. "I was trying to stay aggressive. I knew I made a couple of shots and was feeling pretty good. We ran a lot of sets for me."

Denver is led by center Nikola Jokic, who averages 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He has 12 double-doubles in his last 16 games. He had 20 points and seven assists in the first meeting with Atlanta.

The game will also mark a homecoming of sorts for Paul Millsap, who played four seasons with the Hawks. He was an All-Star each of those years and averaged 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds during his time in Atlanta. This season, Millsap is averaging 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds and is shooting a career-high 42.5 percent on 3-pointers.

The Nuggets have gotten a lift from rookie Michael Porter Jr. He had a career-high 25 points of 11-for-12 shooting against the Pacers on Thursday. Over his last four games, Porter is averaging 14.5 points and shooting 75.8 percent in 18 minutes per game.

--Field Level Media

Team Record Comparison

Standings GB W-L Aw/Hm Stk L10
Denver  
Atlanta  

Hot Players (Last 10 team games)

Injury Report

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