Atlanta Hawks Six Game Winning Streak Snapped In 141-111 Blowout Loss Against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets

The Atlanta Hawks almost lost their losing streak on Friday night vs the Lakers, but they were able to rally and get the win. Tonight, the Hawks were completely outmatched vs three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets and it led to a blowout loss. This game got out of hand quickly and the Hawks were never able to make an effort to get back in the game.

Now, there were some things going against the Hawks in tonight's game. Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic were out and the Nuggets were just embarrassed by the Washington Wizards last night. Now, when a team is on a back-to-back, that is usually an advantage for the other team that is rested. This time though, the Nuggets got Aaron Gordon back and were clearly motivated to move on from last night's loss and they did so emphatically. Jokic led the way for the Nuggets with 48 points on 17-29 shooting, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. Michael Porter Jr had 26 points for the Nuggets and Christian Braun had 17, but the main reason for the Nuggets' domination tonight was Jokic and Porter Jr. Denver finished the game shooting 63% from the field and 44% from three.

The Atlanta offense took way too long to get going and the defense was horrific all night long. The Hawks shot 41% from the floor and 23% from three. Atlanta has had games where they have overcome their poor three-point shooting, but tonight was not one of the,. The Hawks have been one of the worst shooting teams in the league this season, but they have found ways to overcome it. The defense had been a strong point for the Hawks in their six game winning streak, but the last two games have been reminiscent of the Hawks defense in the past.

The only real bright spot in my opinion tonight was the play of Dyson Daniels. Daniels had 18 points, six assists and five steals tonight, consistently making plays on the defensive end. As a whole, the Hawks defense was poor, but Daniels had his moments tonight disrupting the Nuggets flow.

With Jalen Johnson out, the Hawks started Larry Nance in his place and kept the rest of the starters the same. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Clint Capela, along with Nance, were the first five on the floor.

Russell Westbrook got the start for Denver with Jamal Murray and he was joined by Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic.

It was as ugly of a first half as you could imagine for the Hawks. Even without Johnson and Bogdanovic, the Hawks performed as poorly as you could see a team perform in the first half. The Nuggets looked plenty motivated as well after their loss to the Wizards last night and combined that with the Hawks's performance (especially on offense) and you have a recipe for disaster.

Denver jumped on Atlanta immediately and led 15-8 at the first timeout with 7:03 left in the first quarter and they increased that to 28-17 by the next timeout with 2:54 left. Atlanta could not buy a bucket and Nikola Jokic was dominating. Denver led 38-23 at the end of the first and the Hawks were shooting 30% and were 0-8 from three, while at the same time allowing Denver to shoot 56% from the floor and 43% from three. The Hawks needed to try and make a run whenever Jokic went to the bench, which is how most teams have success with Denver due to their lack of depth.

Atlanta did battle back in the game and actually got the lead down to as low as 11, but the Nuggets switched gears to get the lead to 23 points at the half 71-48. Atlanta was shooting 33% from the floor and an astounding 11% (2-19) from three. Combine that with the Nuggets shooting 61% from the floor and 42% from three and you have a game that was a blowout.

Atlanta never got the lead to under double digits and never made a serious run at making it a game. The Nuggets won 141-111 and ended the Hawks winning streak.

The Hawks have a huge game in front of them on Wednesday. The NBA Cup Quarterfinals will begin and Atlanta will travel to Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks.