The Hawks have lost four straight games after dropping Monday’s matchup to the Nuggets 129-122 at State Farm Arena.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks trailed the Nuggets by 17 points when the fourth quarter began. Then a 3 from Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson put Denver up 108-88 but it did not stop the Hawks, who continued to compete despite the deficit.
They dug into the Nuggets lead slowly but surely, and then Bogdan Bogdanovic got hot.
The Hawks wing went on a tear, hitting a jumpers and drawing contact when he got inside. Then as the Hawks continued to get stops, Bogdanovic capitalized on them, hitting a 3 in transition after Clint Capela picked off Jamal Murray. Then Bogdanovic took the ball away from Murray before getting out in transition and pulling up for a 3 on the wing to cut the Hawks’ deficit 124-118.
His aggressiveness got the better of him after he fouled Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the other. But Bogdanovic made up for it after Capela grabbed an offensive board off a 3-point miss. Then Bogdanovic nailed his 10th 3 of the night, ending the game with 40 points and a career-high for 3-pointers made.
“I think one of the interesting things that is significant and good is that our guys were really aware of finding him and they found him a lot of different ways,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
2. The Hawks’ flurry of scoring came on a night where they already had short numbers. The team ruled out De’Andre Hunter ahead of the game with right quad soreness. They have also had to navigate their rotation with the long-term absence of Jalen Johnson.
So, losing Trae Young with 25.7 seconds in the third quarter did not help them as they tried to climb out of a 14-point deficit. But after referees did not call a foul after Young tried to drive to the basket, the Hawks guard took umbrage with the lack of call and argued with referees.
They eventually assessed Young with a technical. Then Snyder received a technical for walking onto the court to get an explanation. Then Young received a second technical for continuing to argue with the officials and was ejected from the game.
3. Being shorthanded, the Hawks bumped Garrison Mathews into the starting lineup. They have used Bogdanovic in the starting lineup, but in facing a deep Nuggets team, they needed to make sure they had enough shooting coming off the bench.
AJ Griffin, who hadn’t played since Nov. 28, also returned to the rotation. The 20-year-old has had spot minutes as he looks to develop his defense. He had trouble in Monday’s matchup after he got burned in what may have been a miscommunication when Nuggets rookie guard Julian Strawther ran right behind him after getting picked up at the top of the key.
Strawther kept running until he got to the wing and hit a 3 off the catch.
4. The frustration reached a fever pitch as the Hawks tried to reverse their fortunes after they began the game hot. The Hawks made nine 3s in the first quarter to get out to an 11-point lead with 45.5 seconds left after Bogdanovic hit a 3 off an assist from Young.
But they quickly cooled after the Nuggets turned up the pressure by getting into a rhythm on the offensive end. They leaned on Strawther, who knocked down shot after shot.
Strawther did not miss from 3-point distance until 4:01 remained in the second quarter. Prior to that, he went 5-of-5 from three to help cut into the Hawks’ lead and get the Nuggets on their roll. He finished the game with a career-high 22 points, after coming into the night averaging just 4.7 per game on 31.1% shooting from 3.
5. The Hawks continue to struggle at home. They’re 3-6 at State Farm Arena this season, while putting up a 6-6 record on the road.
Stat to know
1 -- Bogdan Bogdanovic is the first player in Hawks history to have 40-plus points and 10-plus 3-pointers in a game.
Quotable
“When I was younger, probably I was like, maybe down, and you kind of lose like, not motivation, but you lose that ‘mojo’ in that moment. ... But I have learned that there is always a chance. If there is a time left on the clock, there is always a chance. So that was my mindset.” -- Bogdan Bogdanovic on his mindset.
Up next
The Hawks head north of the border where they face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday and Friday at ScotiaBank Arena.
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