Short-handed Denver dealt second straight loss in Atlanta
ATLANTA» One of the worst teams in the NBA caught the ailing Nuggets at the perfect time.
The Hawks took advantage of tired legs and a razor-thin bench and handed the Nuggets (17-9) their second consecutive loss Saturday night. Denver concluded its five-game road trip with a dispiriting 106-98 loss to the Hawks, who improved to 6-20.
The Nuggets were already down three starters after Jamal Murray got kicked in the shin late in the second quarter while Hawks forward Justin Anderson tried to secure a rebound. Murray hobbled to the bench before eventually returning in the third quarter, but he labored the rest of the game.
“I got kicked I think in an awkward spot,” Murray said, who finished with four points on 2-for-9 shooting. “Pain beat me today. I tried to get in the game, the game was already … They were playing really aggressive already, and I was kind of limited.”
The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic’s 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and a double-double for Juancho Hernangomez (17 points, 10 rebounds).
Meanwhile, Vince Carter turned back the clock and scorched the Nuggets with three 3-pointers and a put-back dunk in the third quarter. Atlanta pulled away and outscored the Nuggets 35-21 to take an 86-77 lead, and Denver trailed the rest of the way.
“In the third quarter, our defense was nonexistent,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “This was one of our worst performances of the year. We had a lot of guys who had really bad nights. It was by far our worst passing game since I’ve been here. We couldn’t