The Denver Nuggets were out of whack and discombobulated heading into their matchup with the Atlanta Hawks in downtown Denver at the Pepsi Center. Prior to the game, Denver was in the midst of a four-game losing streak including three-straight losses at home. They desperately needed to get back on track.
In order to get the Nuggets back on track, Michael Malone made a very surprising decision when he inserted Monte Morris into the starting unit and benched Jamal Murray. A team source told Mile High Sports that Malone made the decision to start Morris before shootaround and had been operating with Murray off the bench for the entirety of the day.
By the time the final buzzer sounded, the game was already far out of reach. The Nuggets absolutely obliterated the Hawks and won by 45 points. The final score was 138-93.
To begin the game, the Nuggets were obliterating the Hawks on both ends of the floor. Denver jumped out to an 11-0 lead to begin the game as their offense finally began to look as explosive as they were in seasons past. They were generating easy shots at the rim, hitting 3-pointers, and moving the ball extremely well. On defense, they were flying around, making extra rotations, and forcing Atlanta into turnovers consistently.
By the time that the first-quarter buzzer had sounded, the Nuggets and a commanding 35-23 lead over the Hawks and were executing at a high level on offense and defense. For most of the season, the Nuggets starting unit failed to come out with aggression and punch first, but with Morris in the starting lineup instead of Murray, that is exactly what happened. Everyone was in sync and the starting five looked more cohesive than they have all year.
Denver began the second quarter on a 7-4 run and extended their lead to 15 points right off the bat. There was really nothing that Atlanta was able to do to slow the Nuggets relentless offensive attack, but to Denver’s credit, their energy was incredible.
Then, to close out the first half, Malone brought Jokic back to play alongside Paul Millsap, Gary Harris, Juancho Hernangomez and Murray to apply even more pressure. That is when Nikola Jokic morphed back into an offensive savant. He was throwing no-look passes, setting guys up for wide open shots, and orchestrating Denver’s offense as if they were a symphony.
By the time the first half ended, Denver had a 73-57 lead and had the Hawks reeling. Denver had 20 assists on 29 made baskets in the first half and had more steals (8) than turnovers (7).
To begin the second half, the Nuggets pushed their lead as high as 36 points and kept their foot slammed down on the throttle. Every Nuggets player was getting chances to impact the game and all were converting those opportunities. Trey Lyles was feasting at the rim, Hernangomez was getting into the paint and gobbling up offensive rebounds, Beasley was hitting big threes and defending with vigor, Harris was playing an ultra-efficient brand of basketball, and the entire roster was playing strong defense.
By the time the third quarter ended, Denver led Atlanta 109-73 and essentially ended the game prior to the fourth and final quarter.
The fourth quarter was just a formality as Denver easily grabbed their first win in their last five games. It did not matter who was on the floor for the Nuggets; they were relentless in their pursuit of ending their four-game losing streak. Their tenacity was evident in every possession and it set the tone for their eventual blowout victory over the Hawks.
Jokic had one of his most complete games of the season with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting while adding nine rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and one block. Hernangomez had one of his best games of the season and finished with 25 points and eight rebounds. Harris also had himself a strong game with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with three rebounds, four assists, and some phenomenal defense. In addition to the starting unit playing extremely well, Murray also poured in 14 points off the bench as well.
Now that the Nuggets four-game homestand has ended, they now will travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans at 5pm MST on Sunday, November 17th.
