Denver @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 12, 2019 ) Atlanta 125, Denver 121

The Atlanta Hawks are winners of two of three following a 10-game slide as they attempt to pull out of the basement in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks will try to win back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two games of the season when they host the struggling Denver Nuggets on Monday.

Atlanta dropped a 109-106 decision at Boston on Friday despite building an 18-point lead in the first quarter and let another big lead slip away on Saturday before recovering to knock off Indiana 116-111. "We just closed the game out," Hawks point guard Trae Young told reporters. "We played smarter, we finished it, executed at the end of the game, and that's what ultimately won us the game." Denver dropped two of the first three on a five-game trip and is coming off a 128-114 loss at Washington in which it allowed the Wizards to shoot 54.9 percent from the floor. "We had a mindset that we could just show up and win a game," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters after the loss. "Tonight is exactly what the doctor ordered. Embarrassing performance, unacceptable, whatever you want to call it."

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Altitude 2, FS Southeast, TSN5

ABOUT THE NUGGETS (24-11): Denver began the road trip by letting Houston shoot 52.9 percent in a 130-104 setback and allowed each of the first three opponents on the trip to shoot at least 52 percent from the floor. "We've been humbled before," Malone told reporters. "Our defense, over the last seven games is bottom of the league and tonight was another awful performance. The reality is that this is the NBA. I don't care who plays, they're all professionals playing for something." The bright spot on Saturday came from guard Jamal Murray, who scored 39 points on 13-of-19 shooting.

ABOUT THE HAWKS (8-28): Veteran guard Vince Carter became the first player in NBA history to play in four different decades when he took the court on Saturday, telling reporters after the game, "I'm just very thankful to still be around and compete at this level." Carter logged 18 minutes and went 1-of-7 from the floor as Atlanta tried to cover holes in the lineup with forwards John Collins (back), Cam Reddish (wrist) and Jabari Parker (shoulder) sitting out. "We're playing musical chairs with our lineup before the game, with guys being out, and I thought the guys came in and really played inspired basketball," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hawks SG Kevin Huerter scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting Saturday.

2. Nuggets SG Will Barton is 12-of-36 from the floor over the last three games.

3. Atlanta claimed a 125-121 victory at Denver on Nov. 12 behind 42 points and 11 assists from Young.

PREDICTION: Nuggets 125, Hawks 117