The Atlanta Hawks (35 - 34) defeated the Denver Nuggets (28 - 41) 116 - 98 on Thursday. The Hawks made a change to the starting lineup, with Kent Bazemore heading to the bench with a knee injury and Tim Hardaway, Jr. stepping into the starting five in his stead. The move was highly successful, as Hardaway filled out the stat sheet with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Atlanta was essentially superior in every category as well, as they posted 50 percent and 46 percent success rates from the field and three - point range, respectively. They also elicited 14 turnovers from the Nuggets, and hauled in 40 boards on the night. D.J. Augustin paced Denver in his reserve role, tallying 17 points, seven assists, a rebound and a block. A second bench player, Joffrey Lauvergne, was next in line with 16 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block. Gary Harris pitched in 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Emmanuel Mudiay followed with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal, as the only other starter besides Harris to manage double - digit scoring. The Nuggets remain in fourth place in the Western Conference's Northwest Division, and are 8 games behind the eighth - seeded Dallas Mavericks. They head to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Saturday night. Jeff Teague followed Hardway's effort with 16 points, eight assists, three rebounds and a steal. Paul Millsap matched Teague's scoring total and added 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Al Horford and Kyle Korver rounded out a productive night for the starting five with a pair of 11 - point efforts. The former managed three rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while the latter dished out four dimes and a rebound. Thabo Sefolosha paced the reserves with 14 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Kris Humphries and Dennis Schroder also had a pair of 11 - point outings in reserve roles. The Hawks retain a hold of first place in the Eastern Conference's Southeastern Division, and of the third seed in the conference as well. They're home again on Saturday versus the Houston Rockets.
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