Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Carve Up Atlanta's Defense in 142-110 Win

The Hawks were trying to rebound from their loss over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, but they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Denver Nuggets tonight. Nikola Jokic showed why he is the best basketball player in the world and Denver showed why they are one of the favorites to win the title and repeat as NBA champions.

After some solid performances over the past few games on defense, the Hawks defense was shredded to pieces tonight vs the Nuggets. Atlanta gave up 142 points and let the Nuggets shoot over 60% from the field. Jokic had another effortless triple-double and Denver had six players score in double figures. It was a game that was never all that competitive.

Atlanta is now 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Confernece and getting a home game in the first play-in tournament game. With only four games left, time is running out for the Hawks if they want to host the Bulls in that game.

Let's recap a tough night on the road for the Hawks.

Atlanta kept their usual starting five tonight with Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela.

Without Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets started Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr, Christian Braun, and Nikola Jokic.

For the first six minutes of the first quarter, the Hawks went toe-to-toe with the Nuggets, but the rest of the first quarter was an offensive struggle for Atlanta.

Denver jumped out to a 17-16 lead, but a 10-2 run from the Nuggets got the lead up to 27-18. Jokic is going for his third career MVP this year and his first quarter showed why he should be considered the leagues best player. He tallied nine points, four rebounds, and three assists. Michael Porter Jr looked more comfortable in the offense with Murray back in the lineup and scored seven points in the first.

The Hawks bench rotation remained the same tonight, with Kobe Bufkin, Garrison Matthews, Vit Krejci, and Bruno Fernando completing the Hawks rotation.

Denver led by as many as 11, but the Hawks cut the lead to 33-26 at the end of the first. The Hawks only shot 39% from the field and 27% from three. Jalen Johnson scored seven points. Denver shot 50% from the field and 49% from three.

It looked like the Nuggets were going to pull away in the second quarter. At the first timeout with 7:32 left, Denver led 49-33 and when the Nuggets have a big lead at home, that usually ensures a win.

The Hawks finally got going from beyond the three-point line though and managed to keep the game close. Matthews had nine points off the bench and Atlanta was 6-11 from three. Bogdanovic had seven while Hunter had six, helping the Hawks keep the defecit to 13.

The Hawks offense might have gotten going, but their defense was dreadful in the first half. Atlanta led Denver shoot 57% from the field and 58% from three.

While Jokic had a great first quarter, Caldwell-Pope had 13 points, leading all scorers and Murray had 11 in the first half. Denver outscored Atlanta 22-12 in the paint.

The third quarter is where Denver pulled away fro good.

The Nuggets offense continued to carve Atlanta's defense apart to the tune of them shooting 70% from the field and from three. Those are insane shooting numbers and Atlanta could not find a way to slow the Nuggets down. Caldwell-Pope continued his great offensive night with 11 points in the third, while Jokic had 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the quarter alone. Porter Jr had seven points and Reggie Jackson had six off the bench. Denver had an effective shooting percentage of 85% in the third quarter.

The Hawks's offense shot 62% in the third quarter, but you would not have thought so given the deficit. Denver led by 25 after the third and that was all she wrote.

The fourth quarter was a non-competive affair and the end result was a 142-110 win for Denver.

For the game, Atlanta shot 43% from the field and 32% from three. Atlanta had six players score in double-figures, led by Capela's 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Denver shot 60% from the field and 56% from three. They had six players in double-figures, led by Caldwell-Popes 24 points. Denver's bench outscored Atlanta's 58-24

This was a night to forget for Atlanta and they will be hoping to finish the season strong next week. Atlanta begins their final week of the season on Tuesday at home vs the Miami Heat.