End of 4-game winning streak! Jokic with 23+17, Trae Young 8/17 shooting, Westbrook delivers, Nuggets face reality
On January 2nd, Beijing time, the NBA 2024-25 season regular season welcomes a focus battle in the West, with the Denver Nuggets hosting the Atlanta Hawks. This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. In the previous match, the Nuggets defeated the Hawks by a margin of 30 points, showing a clear advantage. Obviously, the Nuggets are indeed inconsistent this season, capable of winning by a large margin but also losing to weak teams like the Wizards. They currently have a record of 18 wins and 13 losses, ranking fifth in the West. Moreover, according to head coach Malone, Gordon will miss the next few games due to an unresolved calf strain. The team's situation is indeed not optimistic.
However, after promoting Westbrook to the starting lineup, the results have been surprisingly good. The data shows that when Westbrook starts, the Nuggets have a record of 8 wins and 2 losses, while in games where Westbrook comes off the bench, the Nuggets have only 10 wins and 11 losses, a stark contrast. Additionally, in the past 8 games, Westbrook's average statistics have increased to 15+7+7+2 steals, with a high shooting percentage of 58.4%. As the American media STATMUSE puts it: Denver has found Westbrook's instruction manual!
Before the game, American media ESPN also provided the latest winning probability prediction for today's game, with the Nuggets' winning probability as high as 68.4%, while the Hawks' winning probability is only 31.6%. Obviously, the American media still favors the Nuggets to complete a double kill against the Hawks. For this game, in terms of the starting lineup, on the Nuggets' side, Gordon, Cancar, and Holmes continue to be absent, and Coach Malone has lined up the starting five as: Westbrook, Braun, Jamal Murray, Porter Jr., and Jokic; on the Hawks' side, Nance Jr., Zeller, and Bafkin are absent, Bogdan is likely not playing, Trae Young and Daniels are likely to play, and the starting lineup is: Trae Young, Matthews, Daniels, Rui, and Capela.
In the first quarter, Porter Jr. hits a pull-up three-pointer to give the Nuggets the lead. Daniels immediately responds with a three-pointer, and Jokic scores in the paint and draws a foul from Capela, giving the Nuggets an 8-3 lead over the Hawks. Trae Young scores and gets fouled, scoring 8 points alone to help the Hawks close the gap. Murray hits a trailing three-pointer, and Jokic is fouled at the free throw line, almost making a shot with his back to the basket. At the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets lead the Hawks by 7 points with a score of 40-33.
In the first quarter, Jokic played 12 minutes and scored an all-around 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
In the second quarter, Jordan cuts in for a follow-up pass and completes a two-handed slam dunk from one step at the free throw line. Uncle Huang can still fly! Then Westbrook continues to assist Jordan, already sending out 6 assists. Krajic and Trae Young hit three consecutive threes, Rui counters and scores, then Hunter dunks an empty basket to get another point, the Hawks go on a 17-4 run to overtake the Nuggets. Westbrook hits a three-pointer from the corner after being left open, contributing 5 points and 7 assists, finally breaking the Nuggets' scoring drought. Jokic sends a beautiful pass through the seam, and Porter Jr. cuts in to complete a one-handed dunk. At halftime, the Nuggets lead the Hawks by 3 points with a score of 74-71.
At halftime, on the Nuggets' side, Jokic made 5 of 11 shots, scoring 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists; Westbrook made 3 of 4 shots, including 1 of 2 from three-point range, scoring 11 points and 8 assists. On the Hawks' side, Hunter played 15 minutes, made 6 of 10 shots, including 3 of 4 from three-point range, scoring the highest of the game with 16 points plus 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
After changing sides, Westbrook hits the ground and passes back to Jokic for a layup, Rui chases down and blocks with a nailboard cap, then Jokic sends a beautiful pass to Westbrook for a strong finish, responding immediately. Then Jokic looks to the corner and passes 45 degrees, Porter Jr. catches the ball on the wing and hits a three-pointer, then sends a beautiful pass from the backcourt to Braun for a two-handed dunk, and the Nuggets lead by 17 points in a wave. Westbrook dives to fight for possession, and Malone passionately claps and encourages him from the sidelines, then sends a pre-emptive pass, Jokic shakes off two defenders to catch the ball and easily dunks, the Nuggets have now taken a 23-point lead.
It is worth noting that according to statistical data, Jokic, who recorded a triple-double in 20 minutes and 16 seconds in this game, is the seventh-fastest player in NBA history to achieve a triple-double in a single game, and the historical first in this statistic is Jokic himself.
In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets replaced their starters early, and the game officially entered garbage time. Ultimately, the Nuggets defeated the Hawks again with a score of 139-120, ending their opponent's four-game winning streak while also completing a double kill against the Hawks. It must be said that the Nuggets have seen the reality, and Malone really deserves to consider keeping Westbrook in the starting lineup to pair with Jokic, as the effect they produce is indeed very good.
For the entire game, on the Nuggets' side, Jokic scored 23 points, 17 rebounds, 15 assists, and 1 block; Murray scored 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block; Porter Jr. contributed 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists; Westbrook returned to his peak, scoring 16 points, 2 rebounds, and 11 assists with only 1 turnover. On the Hawks' side, Trae Young made 8 of 17 shots, scoring 30 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1 steal in vain; Daniels scored only 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals; Hunter contributed 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals; Capela performed poorly with 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.