ATLANTA — Rarely have these Nuggets faced the specific form of adversity they encountered Friday night, when the Hawks threatened to run them out of the gym.
They handled the challenge with a 20-0 fourth-quarter run and a 134-133 triumph over Atlanta, extending their franchise-record road winning streak to nine games.
“We just kept playing our game, got to our spots and walked them down,” Jamal Murray said.
On a roller coaster night of 3-point shooting variance that featured a dramatic 23-point comeback and a near-disastrous 11-point blown lead late, Murray made the game-winning plays at the defensive end. He stripped Kristaps Porzingis as the Hawks center rolled to the basket, forcing a turnover with 23 seconds left and Denver protecting a 131-129 lead.
Then after Nikola Jokic missed a free throw to keep Atlanta within one possession, Murray blocked his countryman Nickeil Alexander-Walker on a game-tying 3-point attempt. Alexander-Walker recovered drove for a layup with two seconds left, but Jokic fired a quick inbound pass ahead to Murray, who was able to run out the clock.
“All-Defense,” Murray joked afterward.
Jokic overcame one of his worst halves of the season to finish with 40 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. But he was content not to be Denver’s hero. He watched from the sideline with delight as Murray and Cam Johnson staggered with the Jonas Valanciunas-anchored second unit and carried the decisive 20-0 run early in the fourth.
“Everybody had a little moment,” Jokic said. “Bruce (Brown) had a three. Tim (Hardaway Jr.) had a three. Cam had a three. Jonas had a big dunk. Jamal had a tough and-one. So everybody had a little moment. And me and P-Wat were on the bench having fun.”
The Nuggets (16-6) outscored their hosts by 17 in 12 minutes without Jokic. They held Atlanta scoreless for almost five minutes of game time while flipping a 106-97 deficit into a 117-96 lead. The Hawks missed seven straight shots and committed three turnovers during the drought, while Denver generated open 3-point looks one after another.
Valanciunas scored eight points without missing and was a team-best plus-16. Johnson made four 3s, including a deep one to tie during the onslaught. Murray amassed a 23-point, 12-assist double-double and improved to 14 of 17 from 3-point range in the first two games of this road trip. The Nuggets will visit Charlotte for a matinee on Sunday.
“What we’re doing right now on the road is really impressive,” David Adelman said. “It speaks to a veteran team, professional team.”
The Hawks were led by Jalen Johnson, who has stepped up with Trae Young injured. He recorded a triple-double by halftime and finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists.
“It’s good to see that his team believes in him. … He’s a big guy who can handle the ball, who can see and pass basically every pass,”
That Denver (43.2%) ended up shooting equally to Atlanta (43.5%) outside the arc would’ve seemed impossible for most of the first half. Twenty-three was the Nuggets’ largest deficit of the season, as the Hawks made 14 of their 17 shots and eight of their first 10 triples. Physicality again eluded Denver’s defenders. Adelman didn’t say much to them at halftime, except to point out how little they were fouling.
And then there was Jokic’s odd offensive start. He couldn’t buy a bucket, even from the spots where he’s usually at his most reliable.
At one point in the first quarter as he kept missing the mark on 3s, Atlanta was averaging 2.18 points per field goal attempt to Denver’s 0.75.
“I’m not gonna go down without a fight,” Jokic said. “It was just being aggressive. If I miss a shot, I’m gonna miss it aggressively. I feel like the ball was slipping out of my hand. I was just too loose. Too, I’m gonna say, sissy in those moments. I was not attacking the way I’m supposed to attack, and to be aggressive. I was just kind of there. Both ends of the floor. And I just wanted, if we were going to lose, at least I’m gonna give a fight.”
The Serbian center delivered on that promise. After a 2-for-13 first half, he scored 16 in the third quarter and shot 11 for 13 to finish the game. He also provided a spark with a timely block as the Nuggets finally turned defense into offense to fuel their comeback.
“A lot of those above-the-break 3s, I’m always OK with because I know why he’s doing it,” Adelman said. “I know he’s trying to find his rhythm. And eventually he finally made the one. Also, he got to see the ball go in from the free-throw line, finished around the rim. This guy is a three-time MVP. … It’s what it is. It’s clockwork. Enjoy it.”
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