Unexpected Player Makes NBA History in Nuggets vs. Hawks Game

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The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, but they got a historic performance from bench guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. With 40 points and 10 made threes, Bogdanovic joined J.R. Smith as just the second player in NBA history to score at least 40 points and make at least 10 threes off the bench in a game, per StatMuse.
Bogdan Bogdanovic tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 12, 2023
40 PTS
10 3P
Joins JR Smith as the only player in NBA history with 40+ points and 10+ threes off the bench in a game. https://t.co/pgxEQmK06L
This was unfortunately in a losing effort for Atlanta, who dropped their fourth-straight game, but they gave the defending champions a tough game behind this explosion from Bogdanovic.
Scoring 40 points in a game is already impressive, but doing it off the bench to go along with 10 made threes is truly remarkable. This is what Bogdanovic accomplished on Monday night, and he almost took down the defending champions in the process.
Denver had been on a three game losing streak prior to this victory, as were the Hawks. Snapping that losing streak behind big nights from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets were able to get back in the win column.
The Hawks have been one of the bigger disappointments in the NBA this season, struggling to get much going despite having a star leading the show in Trae Young. Not wanting to fall to these Hawks, the Nuggets did a great job taking care of business despite an explosion from Bogdanovic.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.