Nuggets at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are streaking and look to post their seventh victory
in eight games when they host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The Hawks
stand a season-high 10 games above .500 and the hot stretch has allowed
them to move within a half-game of the third-place Miami Heat in the
Eastern Conference playoff race.
Atlanta rallied from an 11-point third-quarter deficit while posting a 118-114 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. "They came out firing; they played really well," center Al Horford told reporters of the Pistons. "I just felt like in the fourth our defense, the intensity turned up a little bit." Denver has allowed an average of 120 points while losing the first two games on a five-game excursion after winning the final four games of a 5-2 homestand. "That's two games in a row on this road trip that we've gotten away from what gave us success at home in that 5-2 homestand," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters. "We allowed (Orlando) to score 116 points and (shoot) 54 (percent) from the field, which is crazy."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (28-40): Power forward Kenneth Faried went 11-of-11 from the field while scoring 24 points against Miami in the first game of the road trip but was practically invisible against Orlando. Faried played just 15 minutes and didn't return after being subbed for midway through the third quarter when it appeared he was experiencing back issues. "He never mentioned anything about his back," Malone told reporters while saying the move was performance related. "(Orlando's) Aaron Gordon got going against him to start that third quarter — that group was not playing well. I just cannot sit there and watch. I'm going to make changes and get guys in."
ABOUT THE HAWKS (39-29): Atlanta is tied for fourth place with the Boston Celtics and just a half-game ahead of the sixth-place Charlotte Hornets in the tightly packed East. Horford had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over the Pistons and is averaging 19.5 points and shooting 62.3 percent from the field during the past four games. All-Star power forward Paul Millsap has scored in double digits in 13 straight games after contributing 13 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against Detroit.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets have dropped 21 of their last 24 visits to Atlanta.
2. Atlanta SF Kent Bazemore had 15 points and 10 rebounds against Detroit for his first double-double of the season.
3. Denver SG Gary Harris has scored in double digits in 11 straight games and is averaging 16.6 points during the stretch.