NBAs Biggest 1-2 Punch & Boykins Power Nuggets Past Hawks 100-87
The Atlanta Hawks started off well at home, but went downhill steadily, until they practically couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Conversely, the Nuggets had a slow start but turned on the juice when it most counted in the second half. What is now one of the league's most dangerous combos, Melo and J.R. Smith, combined for 43 points, enough together with 19 from Boykins to beat the Hawks. Melo and Smith combined are averaging a huge 49 points per game for the season.
Melo was 10/25, 1/3 on 3's, and 5/8 from the line for 26 points, much better than at Dallas but still not quite at the top of his game. Smith was 7/13 and 3/6 on 3's for 17 points. Boykins in 24 minutes off the bench was 8/11, 1/3 on 3's and 2/2 from the line for 19 points. On the season, Boykins is 10.1 ppg and 4.4 assists per game. Keep in mind that the average man is taller than Boykins, who is the shortest player in the NBA at 5'5".
Camby and Reggie Evans shut down what little offense the Hawks could muster in the second half and made this a relatively easy win. Camby has been working on his shot alot lately and tonight was 4/12 and 0/2 from the line for 8 points. The Nuggets outrebounded the Hawks 46-36; Camby had 17 rebounds and Evans had 10. Evans was 4/4 from the free throw line; his accuracy was greatly improved from recent games.
Andre Miller had 9 assists, but he got into foul trouble. Maybe he was distracted about the rumor he might become a 76er? Just kidding. At least I think I'm just kidding. The Nuggets as a whole had a sloppy 21 turnovers but the Hawks could not gain much from this.
Diawara continues his aggressive and improving shooting, which is an important positive development for the Nuggets chances to advance beyond the first round or two in the playoffs. You have to have at least one reliable gunner off the bench who can score a chunk of points relatively quickly. The Nuggets bench is alot less weak than the "experts" thought if Diawara can have nights like tonight on a regular basis. In just 21 minutes, Diawara was 3/6, 2/5 from 3-point land, and 1/1 from the line for 9 points. All of the sudden, the Nuggets, who last year had just 350 3-point shots while their opponents had 530, may have not one but two major three-point threats.
The next game is tomorrow night in D.C. against the Wizards at 5 pm mountain time.
