Trae Young scored 35 points and Clint Capela added 22 as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the visiting Denver Nuggets 123-115 on Sunday.
Atlanta has won two of its last three games, while Denver has lost three of its last four.
Young was 10 of 19 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, and 15 assists. It was the 11th time Young has scored 30-plus points. Capela was 8 of 9 from the field and had 10 rebounds for his team-leading 20th double-double.
The Hawks got 12 points off the bench from both Tony Snell and Danilo Gallinari. Snell made four 3-pointers, while John Collins added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Denver’s Jamal Murray followed his 50-point game on Friday by scoring 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Nikola Jokic, effectively guarded all night by Capela, scored only three points in the first half and finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Facundo Campazzo scored 16 points and Will Barton III and Monte Morris both scored 15.
The Nuggets led by as many as nine points and finished the first quarter with a 33-27 lead. But the Hawks scored 37 points in the second quarter and led 64-56 at halftime.
Atlanta continued to build momentum in the third quarter and opened a 22-point lead when Young made a long 3-pointer with 2:35 left to make it 91-69. The Hawks took a 93-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
Young scored or assisted on 25 of the team’s 29 points in the third quarter.
The Hawks again had assistant coach Nate McMillan running the team. Coach Lloyd Pierce missed the last two games for the birth of his child, but was sidelined this time for health and safety protocols. He is expected to be back for Tuesday’s game at Cleveland.
The Nuggets were without Paul Millsap (left knee sprain) for the fourth straight game and JaMychal Green, who was out with a left shoulder sprain.
–Field Level Media
