Hawks 108, Nuggets 104
Al Horford scored 11 of his 25 points in the third quarter and added 12 rebounds as host Atlanta recorded its seventh win in eight outings.
Josh Smith celebrated his 27th birthday with 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who were playing for the first time since dropping a heartbreaking 113-111 decision to Cleveland on Friday.
Ty Lawson shot 12-for-16 from the field - and drilled all five 3-point attempts - en route to a season-high 32 points. Corey Brewer added 19 off the bench for the Nuggets, who opened a season-high five-game road trip with their fourth straight setback away from home.
After Lawson's final 3-pointer gave Denver a 101-99 lead with exactly two minutes to go, Horford answered with a jumper at the top of the key to tie the contest.
Lou Williams' pair of free throws gave Atlanta the advantage and Lawson lost the ball off his foot, leading to a three-point play for Smith which essentially sealed the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Denver C Kosta Koufos traveled with the team but missed the game due to the flu. Koufos had started each of the Nuggets' first 18 games. Timofey Mozgov recorded his first start and finished with six points and a team-high 13 rebounds ... Atlanta, which snapped a four-game losing streak to Denver, improved to 9-1 on the season when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. ... The Hawks had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds.