The Atlanta Hawks have had a streaky start to the first third of the season and are currently trending upward heading into a New Year’s Day road matchup with the Denver Nuggets.
Atlanta has won four in a row, the last one Sunday at Toronto to kick off a season-long six-game road trip, and Wednesday night brings a chance at payback against the Nuggets.
Denver won the first meeting between the teams, 141-111, on Dec. 8, which ended the Hawks’ six-game winning streak.
Atlanta was 7-11 after a loss to Dallas on Nov. 25 but has won 11 of 15 since. The Hawks will try to extend their winning streak without reserve forward Larry Nance Jr., who suffered a broken right hand against Miami on Saturday night and will have surgery on Thursday.
Nance has played in just 15 games and is averaging 9.5 points this season but has been the subject of trade rumors.
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has missed four straight games with a lower-leg contusion and is doubtful for Wednesday.
Atlanta’s surge over the last five weeks has been fueled by Trae Young, who leads the team in scoring (22 points) and assists (12.1) per game. Jalen Johnson grabs a team-best 10.2 rebounds per game to complement his 19.9 scoring average.
De’Andre Hunter has been valuable off the bench for the Hawks, trailing only Young with 20.6 points per game.
“We need big moments from certain guys, and Dre has been doing great for us,” Young said. “That’s Sixth Man of the Year right there too. So, we got a couple of guys that can win some awards if we keep winning.”
Russell Westbrook could have a case to win the Sixth Man award. Injuries have pushed him into the starting lineup in 10 of the 31 games. A player has to come off the bench in more games than he starts to be eligible for the award.
Westbrook is averaging 12.1 points, 6.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds and is coming off his 201st career triple-double in a win at Utah on Monday night.
Westbrook scored 16 points on Monday without missing a shot from the field (7-of-7) or foul line (2-for-2) and had no turnovers in the game. He has struggled with his outside shooting at times, but his energy has been a catalyst for Denver.
“He came here for one reason, that’s to help us win a championship,” coach Michael Malone said. “And he hates to lose. And that’s what I also love about him, is that he’s built the right way. I’ll go to war with Russell Westbrook any day.”
Westbrook has started the last three games with Aaron Gordon sidelined with a right calf strain. He has proven his worth, but the Nuggets are led by Nikola Jokic, who notched his league-leading 13th triple-double of the season on Monday night. Jokic entered Tuesday tied for second in the NBA in scoring (31 points per game) and third in rebounds (12.9 per game) and assists (9.5 per game) as he makes a case for his fourth MVP.
Jamal Murray (19.8 points per game) and Michael Porter Jr. (18.7) are second and third in scoring for Denver.
