As the Hawks kept humming Sunday afternoon on a low-stress work day, it was easy to note that their defense — so often the preferred talking point of coach Mike Budenholzer — was solid in Atlanta’s sixth victory in a row.
Denver shot just 36.6 percent in Atlanta’s 96-84 victory, including 31.7 percent as the Hawks built a 57-36 halftime lead.
After the Hawks (13-6) moved into first place in the Southeast Division and second in the Eastern Conference, it’s time to tip the offense and make note of forward Paul Millsap at both ends of the court.
His 23 points, 16 of which came in the second half, came on just 13 shots.
That first half? He’d probably like to forget making only one of six shots, but then again he registered all four of his game-high four steals over the first two quarters as Atlanta outscored the Nuggets 11-0 off turnovers.
The second half was a reversal.
Millsap had no steals, yet made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts, including all three of his 3-pointers.
“He’s a unique player in that he can score and impact the game in a lot of ways,” Budenholzer said. “He can play in the post, he can play off the dribble, off the elbows … He’s similar defensively.”
Soon after Millsap picked off a pass by Denver’s Arron Afflalo, Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer with 5:36 left in the first quarter for a 14-13 lead.
Atlanta never again trailed nor was tied, but Millsap was far from finished impacting the game.
His back-to-back steals triggered Atlanta’s 9-0 run to close the second quarter.
Seven of Atlanta’s 12 turnovers fell in the third period. Denver (11-13) outscored Atlanta 30-20.
If not for Millsap scoring 14 points in that quarter — and making all three of his 3-point shots — the Nuggets might have really made things interesting.
“I was able to knock down some shots … I settled down a bit,” he said. “You have to pick your spots; the 3-point line was working for us, working for myself.”
The Hawks have scored 90 or more points in all 19 games, and 100 or more in 13.
They’re eighth in the NBA in scoring (103.5), and third in shooting percentage (47.3) and 3-point shooting percentage (37.7).
Millsap keeps ending up in the middle of everything.
Kyle Korver scored 15 points and made 3 of 7 3-pointers, including a bomb with 3:13 left in the game that blunted Denver’s last push and gave Atlanta a 90-80 lead.
“Teams that have big men who can shoot 3’s and shoot them well gives you a huge advantage,” Korver said. “There are only a few of them and Paul has shown to be one of those guys.
“That just stretches out the spacing of the floor, and gives … everyone else more room to drive, more room to come off screens and make reads; it’s not all clustered.”
About the Author
