The Hawks needed this one.
Clearly frustrated after close losses at the Kings and Suns, the Hawks took out their issues on the Nuggets. They led by as many as 22 points en route to a 119-105 victory Monday night at the Pepsi Center.
The Hawks (27-19) got a rare victory in Denver and snapped the two-game losing streak.
The Nuggets (17-28) have lost three of their last four games.
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Paul Millsap: The power forward returned and finished with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds.
Al Horford: The center finished with 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting, including two 3-pointers.
Jeff Teague/Dennis Schroder: The point guards combined for 27 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds as they got in the paint much of the night.
Five observations
1. Rare win in Denver
The Hawks snapped an eight-game losing streak in Denver with the victory. They had not won here since Dec. 6, 2006. It was also their second win in the Mile High City in the past 12 games. The balanced victory gave the Hawks a 2-2 western road trip.
2. Millsap missed
The Hawks dropped a disappointing game to the lowly Suns on Saturday, one of the worst losses of the season. They played without Millsap, who missed his first game of the season due to a personal reason. He was back on Monday in a big way. The power forward once again proved worthy of the big contract he signed in the offseason.
3. Teague time
Teague has struggled of late. On Sunday, he said he has been dealing with an ankle injury. He looked more like himself on Monday. Teague had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
4. Strong second
The Hawks shot near 60 percent in the first half. They were 13 of 23 from the field in the second quarter as they built a 16-point advantage, 66-50, at intermission. The Hawks started the second quarter on a 21-9 run and outscored the Nuggets 35-20 in the period. Through the first half, all 10 Hawks who entered the game scored and had at least one rebound and seven had at least one assist.
5. Protect the ball
Nuggets coach Mike Malone was asked before the game for his No. 1 concern when facing the Hawks. He quickly pointed to the fact the Hawks are third in the NBA in steals per game. The Nuggets did not protect the basketball early. They had seven first-quarter turnovers which led to 13 Hawks’ points. They finished the half with 10 turnovers which included eight steals. Teague had three steals to move past Stacy Augmon (570) for ninth in franchise history.
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