Preview: Denver Nuggets vs. Atlanta Hawks - prediction, team news, form guide

Seeking a 5th triumph connected the spin, the Atlanta Hawks get the shot rolling successful the caller twelvemonth erstwhile they spell caput to caput with the Denver Nuggets astatine the Ball Arena connected Thursday.

While hosts person blown blistery and acold successful the last weeks starring up to the caller year, Atlanta caput into Thursday's clash connected a tally of 4 back-to-back wins and volition look to proceed their surge successful the Eastern Conference standings.

Match preview

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The Denver Nuggets wrapped up their docket for 2024 successful benignant arsenic they rolled past the Utah Jazz 132-121 erstwhile the 2 sides squared disconnected astatine the Delta Center connected Tuesday morning.

All 5 Nuggets' starters finished with treble figures, led by level wide Nikola Jokic, who tallied 36 points, 11 assists and 22 rebounds to headdress disconnected a ascendant idiosyncratic show and grounds his 13th triple-double of the campaign.

Russell Westbrook besides enactment successful a coagulated displacement astatine the Delta Center arsenic helium went 7-of-7 from the fiend and finished with 16 points to spell with 10 rebounds and 10 assists portion Jamal Murray dropped a 20-point 10-assist double-double.

This followed a 134-121 triumph implicit the Detroit Pistons successful their last location crippled for 2024 connected December 29, having suffered back-to-back defeats against the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers successful the erstwhile 2 outings.

Michael Malone's men picked up 8 wins from their 14 outings since the commencement of December and present clasp a 18-13 grounds for the play arsenic they beryllium sixth successful the Western Conference standings, conscionable supra seventh-placed Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets volition beryllium backing themselves to proceed from wherever they near disconnected against the Jazz and motorboat the caller twelvemonth connected a precocious arsenic they instrumentality connected an opposing broadside who person mislaid each of their astir caller 4 regular-season clashes since a 117-109 triumph successful December 2022.

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On the different hand, the Atlanta Hawks proceed to surge successful the Eastern Conference powerfulness ranking arsenic they stormed to a 136-107 blowout triumph implicit the Toronto Raptors to adjacent the twelvemonth connected a high.

Trae Young shook disconnected a mediocre shooting show against the Miami Heat from 2 nights earlier arsenic helium knocked down 34 points astatine the Scotiabank Arena to spell with 10 assists arsenic helium inspired Atlanta to a ascendant victory.

Young was 1 of 7 Hawks players to decorativeness with treble digits, including De'Andre Hunter's 22, Jalen Johnson's 15 and 11 from Clint Capela, who besides added 12 rebounds to grounds his seventh double-double of the campaign.

Atlanta person present picked up 4 wins from each of their past 4 outings, brushing speech the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heats and the Raptors, having mislaid 4 of their 5 matches preceding this run.

This beardown extremity to the twelvemonth has seen Quin Snyder's men amended to a 18-15 grounds from their 33 games and determination into fifth-place successful the Eastern Conference standings, conscionable beneath fourth-placed Orlando Magic.

Thursday's clash volition beryllium the 2nd of a six-game roadworthy plaything for Atlanta and it is worthy noting that the Hawks person won 5 of their past 7 distant matches since November 28, with the 2 defeats coming astatine the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs.

Denver Nuggets form:

Atlanta Hawks form:

Team News

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Denver Nuggets stay without the services of guardant Vlatko Cancar, who is acceptable to beryllium re-evaluated successful mid-January aft undergoing country implicit a genu injury.

He is joined successful the wounded array by seasoned guardant Aaron Gordon, who has missed each of the past 3 games since sustaining a calf occupation successful the Boxing Day clash against the Phoenix Suns.

As for the Hawks, Larry Nance Jr. is acceptable to acquisition country aft suffering a fractured metacarpal bony successful his close manus and the experienced guardant is ruled retired of Thursday's clash.

Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the crippled against the Raptors done a limb wounded portion Kobe Bufkin has been ruled retired for the remainder of the 2024-25 play aft sustaining a terrible enarthrosis injury.

Dyson Daniels was besides absent from the aforementioned crippled owed to unwellness and is considered day-to-day portion Cody Zeller is yet to diagnostic for the Hawks since his power from the New Orleans Pelicans successful July.

Denver Nuggets imaginable starting 5:
Murray, Braun, Westbrook, Jokic, Porter Jr

Atlanta Hawks imaginable starting 5:
Young, Johnson, Capela, Krejci, Risacher

We say: Denver Nuggets to triumph by 5+ points.

While the Denver Nuggets person struggled for consistency successful caller weeks, 2 hard-fought victories implicit the Pistons and the Jazz successful their last 2 games successful 2024 could service arsenic a catalyst for a coagulated tally to commencement the caller year.

The Atlanta Hawks person deed their stride of late, but portion we expect them to enactment up a fight, we fancy Malone's men to widen their caller dominance successful this fixture and marque it 5 consecutive regular-season wins against the visitors.

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