The Nuggets’ road win streak survived a wild Friday night in Atlanta.
Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 134-133 win over the Hawks at State Farm Arena:
1. Denver’s ninth straight win on the road was a 48-minute crash course on Nikola Jokic’s value. The Nuggets trailed by as many as 23 in the first half with Jokic not looking anything like himself. The three-time Most Valuable Player went 2 for 13 from the field before halftime and missed his first six 3-pointers. He finished with 40 points on 13 of 26 shooting, scoring 30 of his points in the second half, with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The 30-year-old scored Denver’s final 11 points in the final five minutes. The Nuggets don’t come close to completing the third-largest comeback in franchise history without an elite second half from the best basketball player in the world.
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu, front right, during the first half, Friday, Dec. 5 in Atlanta. The Associated Press
2. It wasn’t the scoring explosion from Wednesday, but Jamal Murray put together another All-Star-worthy performance in Atlanta. After dropping 52 points against the Pacers, Murray’s most impactful plays against the Hawks came on defense.
It looked like the Hawks would tie the game with 23 seconds left when 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porzingis caught the ball rolling to the rim, but Murray was able to poke the ball free and force the Hawks to foul. After Jokic split his free throws to make it a three-point game with 16 seconds left, Murray scrambled out to the perimeter to block Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s attempt at a tying 3-pointer with six seconds left.
Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels combine for one of the NBA’s best defensive backcourts, and Murray still finished with an efficient 23 points on 16 shots with 12 assists and five rebounds to go with the clutch defensive plays.
3. It’s hard to imagine a better game from the Nuggets’ bench. The four reserves who played — Tim Hardaway Jr. (5-11), Bruce Brown (4-4), Jonas Valanciunas (4-4) and Zeke Nnaji (1-1) — went a combined 14 for 20 from the field.
Four of Hardaway’s misses came from 3-point range where he went 4 for 8. Hardaway led the bench with 17 points and drew an important charge in the second half. Brown added 13 points and three steals, while the Nuggets won the 12 minutes Valanciunas played by 16 points.
Hardaway, Brown and Valanciunas teamed with Murray and Cam Johnson to go on a 20-0 run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Nuggets the lead for good.
NUGGETS 134, HAWKS 133
What happened: Atlanta led by 18 to start the second quarter and had a 73-54 advantage at halftime. Denver closed within nine to start the fourth and used a 20-0 run in the fourth to improve to 16-6 and extend the road win streak to nine games.
What went right: The Nuggets made their first seven shots of the third quarter and closed within four, thanks to a 17-2 run to start the second half. Jokic scored seven of those points.
What went wrong: Atlanta went 16 for 21 in the first quarter, including an 8-for-12 mark from 3-point range. The result was Denver’s defense giving up another quarter where the opponent scores more than 40 points.
Highlight of the night: There’s still some juice in Jonas Valanciunas’ 33-year-old legs. Denver’s backup center rolled to the rim, caught a pass from Jamal Murray, and threw down a strong one-handed jam that cut Atlanta’s lead to two early in the fourth.
Up next: The Nuggets are off to Charlotte for Sunday’s matinee against the Hornets.