The Denver Nuggets, reigning NBA champions, defeated the Atlanta Hawks 129-122 on Dec. 11 in devastating fashion. Going into the matchup, both teams had a three-game losing streak, with the Hawks’ most recent loss coming against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 8.
Before the game, speculation circulated about whether Nuggets guard Jamal Murray could play with an ankle sprain he sustained on Nov. 29 against the Houston Rockets. This season, he has played an important role in Denver’s offensive output, averaging 18.5 points per game, making him a critical counterbalance to the Hawks’ aggressive offense.
The Hawks hit the court running with a strong first quarter, demonstrating cohesive teamwork as they worked the ball around the offensive zone. They matched Denver’s scoring with an early lead, which a series of threes from Hawks guards Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic solidified with two minutes left in the quarter.
Building on their momentum, the Hawks entered the second quarter on fire with Young and Bogdanovic opening up the score. However, Denver began to chip away at the Hawks’ dominant lead. The Nuggets had brought the game within three points when their forward Aaron Gordon fouled Hawks forward Saddiq Bey and received a technical foul for arguing against it. Young made the technical free throw right after making two previous free throws from a shooting foul against him by Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Undeterred by Young’s three free throws, Jamal Murray propelled the Nuggets ahead of the Hawks by scoring 11 out of Denver’s 13 points after Gordon’s technical. The Hawks trailed 65-62 at the half, marking the first time they did not have the lead.
Atlanta came out of halftime completely flat, allowing Denver to score some crucial points. With contributions from Jamal Murray and Gordon, the Nuggets went on a 13-point run to create a 20-point gap in four minutes. A major block from Bey and two free throws from Young indicated a second wind for Atlanta’s offense, but they could not keep up with Denver.
To make matters worse, Young and Hawks Head Coach Quin Snyder both received technical fouls during a confusing discourse with the referees. Young received one with 25.7 seconds left in the third quarter for arguing over a missed reach-in foul from Nuggets forward Peyton Watson. Chaos ensued when Snyder questioned the foul, and the ref assigned another technical to Snyder and a second to Young, ejecting the point guard out of the game. The confusion on the court caused the crowd to chant, “Ref, you suck!” in unison. Young chucked his jersey into the stands as he walked off the floor.
Despite the rocky ending to the quarter, Snyder commended his team for pushing the commotion aside and dialing back in for the fourth quarter.
“The third quarter of the game got away,” Snyder said. “It would’ve been really easy, given just all the different adversity that was going on in the game tonight, for us to give in — that didn’t happen.”
Starting the fourth quarter down 103-86, Atlanta appeared to be set to receive their fourth loss in a row. Yet even without Young, Bogdanovic, Bey and Hawks guard Dejounte Murray contributed key threes to cut into Denver’s lead. The Hawks brought the game within four points with 32 seconds left, but ultimately a missed free throw from Bey and an unsuccessful coach’s challenge over ball possession sealed Atlanta’s fate. Denver narrowly won the game, 129-122.
Hawks center Clint Capela highlighted the progress the team has made since he joined in 2020 when asked about the game’s outcome.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” Capela said in a post-game press conference. “We have to keep that mindset by getting better one game at a time. You have to stay the course. It’s still a long season, and we have to strive to get better.”
The game was not entirely negative for the Hawks, however. Bogdanovic set two single-game career highs 40 points and 10 threes and a franchise record for the third-most points scored off the bench. Capela also scored his 3,000th career basket on his fourth made field goal.
Bogdanovic attributed his stellar performance to his teammates’ support.“Having teammates like [Bey] and Clint is amazing,” Bogdanovic said at the post-game press conference. “They’re pushing me to another level. They’re reminding me how good I am. Sometimes you get lost on the floor. It’s not like you don’t have confidence, but hearing that from your own teammates, it’s another level.”
