Hawks fall victim to Nuggets 115-123

Coming off of Saturday night’s, win against the Indiana Pacers.  The optimism was high with John Collins and Cam Reddish returning from the injury list. A third consecutive win was not so far fetched, when the Hawks returned to home court to take on the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

At the end of the 1st quarter the Hawks led by 2 points.

At the half, the Hawks scored 11 triples, making it the third time they’ve knocked down double-digit three’s in an opening half this season and the fifth time in any half.

Kevin Huerter kept the Hawks in the game midway in the third quarter by knocking down three consecutive triples, slashing the score to 71-69.

Even with Atlanta playing descent offense their defense had some lapses. In the end Denver delivered a 123-115 defeat.

 Trae Young led the team in scoring a double-double with 29 points, 12 assists, and 4 rebounds. Kevin Huerter added 22 points and led the team in rebounding with a season-high 8 boards and 1 assist. Huerter surpassed 1,000 career points and passed Tyronn Lue and Doc Rivers for 21st on the Hawks’ all-time three-pointers made list (189). De’Andre Hunter gathered 16 points 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. John Collins collected 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists to round off the scoring efforts.


Jokic is a very skilled player. I thought he got to the line a lot tonight, which gave him a little bit of a boost. But down the stretch, in the fourth quarter, we did a solid job on him just trying to make him (take) tough shots. We did the best we could.” said John Collins.

“They’re a really good team. The same game plan we had coming in, what we did last game, it worked. Tonight, Jokic just had it going. For us, we switched up a little bit throughout the game, but he’s an All-Star. He’s a great player. They have a lot of other really good players on that team. He can go, so there’s not much you can do when a guy’s going like that.” said Trae Young.

“I always think I am going to have one of those nights, you know that. It’s a fifty-fifty chance for me. Mentally, I already think that I am going to have a big night every game.” said Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton.

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“Tough fight for our guys. I thought our guys competed. The fourth-quarter execution was a little tough down the stretch. Jokic is a good player but it’s tough when you don’t get a call. I thought our guys were banging and battling just as much as he was” said Coach Lloyd Pierce.

?? ????: The Hawks now (8-29) will take on the Houston Rockets at home on Wednesday. Tip off is at 7:30.