Peachtree Hoops: Nuggets breeze past Hawks, 142-110

[Hawksquawk]

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Well it was close for half a quarter.

The Hawks came into Denver looking to hang with the Chicago Bulls, their main opponent for the 9-seed in the Eastern Conference Play-In picture.

Dejounte Murray opened the scoring with a sweet shooting stroke.

DJ over Jokic to get things started. pic.twitter.com/qdqeD0VkDd

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) April 7, 2024

Both offenses were clicking early, finding space from deep to let it fly with ease.

Below, Hunter gets one to go plus the foul after the curl into the lane.

D-Hunt hoop and harm. pic.twitter.com/V9ZzAAkGrV

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) April 7, 2024

But the Nuggets went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter to give themselves a double-digit lead, and they never looked back from there.

After one quarter, Denver led 33-26.

The Hawks weren’t much crisper in the second quarter, either, with the Nuggets jumping out to an 8-0 run before Atlanta could get on the board in the quarter.

Denver was getting to the rim at will and Atlanta very much was not. The occasional three kept the Hawks in the contest, but just barely.

The tough sledding offensively continued for the entirety of the first half, and so the Hawks found themselves down 69-56. Atlanta had a difficult time scoring inside the arc, going just 8-for-19 in the first 24 minutes. They also lost the fast break points battle 13-1.

In the third quarter, the Hawks benefitted from some careless turnovers by the Nuggets and forced a timeout down 78-68. But the defending champions wouldn’t be held down for long, ballooning the lead back to 93-76 in a hurry.

Atlanta could never really string together stops, and so despite efficient offense, the Hawks only saw the lead grow and grow.

After three quarters, the Hawks trailed 111-86.

The result of the contest was essentially carved in stone by now, but still the teams played on. Jalen Johnson was able to take out the frustration of this contest in this monster throwdown here.

CLEAR THE LANE FOR JJ #HawksHighlight pic.twitter.com/zQy9VXpijl

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) April 7, 2024

But the rest of the game would be an exercise in futility for the visitors.

Mouhamed Gueye made his re-entry to an NBA floor for his first minutes since October of this year, but beyond that there was little positive to be taken from Saturday night. The Nuggets eventually finished a 142-110 onslaught of the Hawks.

Clint Capela finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jalen Johnson added 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The Hawks will now have two days off before a home game against the Miami Heat.

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