Hawks at Nuggets
THE STORY: The Atlanta Hawks make their fifth stop on a six-game
road swing Tuesday when they face the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks opened
the Western side of the trip with a victory at Sacramento on Sunday.
Atlanta improved to 6-7 versus Western Conference opponents, with half
those wins coming against Northwest Division members. The Nuggets, once
one of the best home teams in the NBA, have lost two of their last three
at the Pepsi Center and are 9-13 at home. Denver has won three in a row
over Atlanta.
TV: 9 p.m., SportSouth (Hawks), Altitude (Nuggets)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (24-17):
The Hawks bring along a rather dark cloud with them on this extended
road trip. Star forward Josh Smith has been vocal about his desire to be
dealt during the upcoming trade deadline. He scored 28 points against
Sacramento to help Atlanta snap a two-game losing streak and is
averaging more than 21 points in March.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (23-19):
Denver is finally getting healthy after being plagued by injuries
before the All-Star break. Forward Danilo Gallinari, who missed 13 games
with an ankle injury, returned to the starting lineup for the first
time since returning four games ago, going 0 for 5 and finishing without
a point Sunday. Nene, however, looks to be recovered from a foot
ailment that held him out for 10 games. The 6-foot-11 center is
averaging 13.3 points in his last three contests.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1.
Denver has scored more than 100 points in its last five meetings with
Atlanta. At least one team has reached the century mark in their last
nine encounters.
2. The Nuggets are on a stretch of five games
versus teams with winning records – Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City,
Boston and Dallas.
3. The Hawks lead the all-time series 40-34.