The Atlanta Hawks were at home on Friday evening to face the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks are coming off a tough loss against the Los Angeles Clippers, but they were without Jalen Johnson, and the team didn’t seem like they had the legs to compete after all the traveling that they’ve done the past two weeks.

Luckily for the Hawks, they were able to get back Johnson, as well as Kristaps Porzingis, who had missed the past four games with an illness. He was on a minutes restriction coming back, and also came off the bench. That means Onyeka Okongwu got the start, and he hit two early 3-pointers.

The Hawks turned defense into offense on this play and got Johnson an easy bucket in transition.

Vit Krejci joined in on the 3-point fun later in the quarter.

The Nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket in the first quarter, while the Hawks were able to get most of their shots to go in. Porzingis entered the game, and it was almost like he didn’t miss any time, knocking down 3s, one-legged fadeaway shots, and off the backboard middies.

Going into the second quarter, the Hawks led 41-23, a complete difference from two nights ago. Krejci kept it going in the second, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers early.

The Hawks stayed in a flow state in the second; Johnson pulled out some new tricks with this floating jumper.

As impressive a shot that was, Johnson’s playmaking stole the first half, as he had double-digit assists early, including this one to Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

But… this dunk was pretty impressive.

Johnson finished the first half with a triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, and that kept the Hawks afloat going into halftime, as they led the Nuggets 73-54.

After a strong first half, it was the complete opposite for them to start the third quarter. They couldn’t score or get a stop, and that worked in the Nuggets’ favor. The Hawks’ 19-point lead went away quickly, and they only trailed by four points.

Zaccharie Risacher helped the Hawks get out of their slump with some easy shots.

Despite blowing the sizeable lead, the Hawks were still able to stay in front throughout the quarter. Porzingis was a reason for that, as he kept knocking down tough shots.

Going into the fourth, the Hawks led 103-94.

It was a slow start to the quarter for the Hawks, as the Nuggets slowly got back into it and tied the game. It got ugly from there for the Hawks, as they went through a period where nothing was falling, and the Nuggets couldn’t miss.

Porzingis tried to get the Hawks back into it with this 3-pointer.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Nuggets could not miss, even when they were knocking down shots consistently.

The Hawks kept working, and they were able to cut the deficit down the stretch. Alexander-Walker popped it off with a 3-pointer.

Johnson then was able to get a steal for an easy dunk on the other end.

The Hawks trailed by two points late, and they had a chance to either tie or take the lead. The ball went to Porzingis in the paint, but he had the ball stripped by the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic went to the line and made both of his free throws and making it a four point game.

The Hawks got a quick two-pointer and fouled the Nuggets again, and Jokic split the pair this time, making it a 3-point game. The Hawks went for the 2-pointer, but it was already too much time taken off the clock, and Jokic inbounded the ball far out so nobody could foul them, leading to the Hawks losing.

Johnson finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists, Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points, and Porzingis finished with 25 points.

The Hawks will be back in action tomorrow against the Washington Wizards.