Hawks cage Nuggets, Denver denied fourth-straight win at Pepsi Center

DENVER — Wilson Chandler‘s buzzer-beating floater from the paint bounced off the heel of the basket after Paul Millsap was fouled on a baseline jumper with six seconds remaining and sank both free throws, as the Atlanta Hawks topped the Denver Nuggets 109-108, handing the Nuggets their first loss in their last four games at Pepsi Center.

Denver was in control of tonight’s game through two quarters, before a third frame that saw the Hawks outscore the Nuggets 31-27 and pull themselves back into contention.

But down the stretch, Denver continued to shoot themselves in the foot.

Michael Malone picked up a technical foul with 42 seconds remaining and the Nuggets in front 108-104 after arguing Nikola Jokic‘s sixth foul.

“I apologized to our team for that. Did not realize what I said was something you can get a tech for”, Malone said. “So I think it’s slightly a ridiculous call considering the time and score of the game. I’m sure one of you reporters can ask and get a better explanation for that than I got.”

From there, Atlanta went on a 5-0 run and sealed the win.

For a while, in the fourth, it looked like the Nuggets were going to pull off their fourth-straight win at home.

Darrell Arthur, who had only seen the court for nine minutes over Denver’s last four games after Malone cut his rotation and Arthur’s minutes when the Nuggets went to their new starting lineup back on Dec. 15, was the source of some energy in tonight’s second half.

Arthur entered the game with 3:03 left in the third quarter, with the score tied at 72 and the Hawks on an 11-1 run. The seldom-used big man left with 7:54 left to go in the fourth with Denver leading 90-89. Only seven minutes of action during that stint, but Arthur was key, scoring five points on 2-3 shooting in just seven minutes and turning in an impressive effort on the defensive end of the floor.

Arthur would come back into the game in the fourth and hand over the reigns to Jokic to finish things off, before re-entering the game for a disqualified Jokic late in the quarter.

“I thought it was great,” Malone said of Arthur’s performance. “Obviously, he hasn’t been playing but another game where Nikola Jokic was unable to stay out of foul trouble so we had to go to our bench and I thought DA in the minutes he played, gave us a big lift both offensively and defensively.”

Jokic, in the 19 minutes he played, was effective, but saw limited action, again, because of foul trouble. The 21-year-old picked up two fouls in a 20-second span in the second quarter, then two more within the first two minutes of the second half. Finally, his sixth, coming on a loose ball foul late in the fourth.

“It’s every night,” Malone said of Jokic’s issues picking up fouls. “Nikola Jokic has to learn, this is like the fourth of fifth game since he’s started that he’s getting into foul trouble, and the one game he doesn’t get into foul trouble he flirts with a triple-double. He’s hurting himself, he’s hurting the team. He just has to be smarter, that’s the bottom line. He’s too important of a player. We play through him and we need him on the floor.”

Jokic finished with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and of course six fouls.

Elsewhere for Denver, Wilson Chandler recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds, Emmanuel Mudiay scored 17 points and went 10-10 from the free throw line, and Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 33 minutes, but was not on the court to end the game.

“Coaches decision,” Malone said of leaving Gallinari on the bench to close out the game.

Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 27 points.

WHERE/WHEN

Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado | Dec. 23, 2016

PLAYS OF THE GAME

Chandler’s and-one

What a bright time, it's the right time…

To steal and score! #Nuggets https://t.co/4teh9j8rsV

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

Faried up high

Over the defense and through the hoop…

This alley-oop WILL GOOOOOO! #Nuggets https://t.co/WIJYebS2MQ

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

Harris on the break

Dashing through the lane, up against the D…

ATTA WAY, G! #Nuggets https://t.co/qiefTsKG8W

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

Jokic’s overhead lob

https://twitter.com/MrNateTimmons/status/812485333522718724

Jokic quick with the no-look

Fa la la la la la (Niko)la with THE NO-LOOK!!

😎😎😎 #Nuggets https://t.co/mmEG2Gi6YS

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

Nuggets twitter trying too hard

Oh what fun to steal and score in our basketball game tonight… #Nuggets https://t.co/3zoGQ0sxAR

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

Arthur’s pick-and-pop three

Three-balls ring, are you listening?#Nuggets https://t.co/ybkYVe6Zcn

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 24, 2016

BY THE NUMBERS

WHATS NEXT

Denver is back in Los Angeles to face the Clippers Monday but host Minnesota and Philadelphia in two winnable games at Pepsi center next week.