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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) – As much as he hated losing Dikembe Mutombo, Lon Kruger is even happier the Atlanta Hawks acquired Toni Kukoc.
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"He finds people, he moves the ball, he obviously makes big
shots," said Kruger, a first-year NBA coach. "Those guys really
feed off that. Because of that, they pass the ball and they move
the better without the basketball. He's had a big influence."
Kukoc scored 23 points and Nazr Mohammed added 16 as Atlanta
beat Denver 99-88 Saturday night, extending its home winning streak
against the Nuggets to 11 games.
Kukoc, who tied a season high with 11 assists, shot 4-for-4 in
the fourth quarter, including a 14-foot turnaround jumper from the
left baseline that put the Hawks up 93-83 with 2:01 remaining.
After a Denver timeout, Matt Maloney made a steal and hit the layup to give the Hawks a 12-point lead.
Atlanta won its second straight after snapping a four-game losing streak and dropping 16 of 19. The Hawks were coming off an 11-point victory over Indiana on Thursday night.
The Nuggets, one night after winning in Charlotte for the first time in nine games, fell to 1-13 on the road this season and 4-18 overall when scoring less than 90 points.
Nick Van Exel, coming off a 41-point performance one night earlier, had 19 points for Denver.
"Our story all season long has been the road," Van Exel said. "That's why we're in the position we're in and not fighting for a playoff spot."
Reserve forward Kevin Willis, who played 11 years in Atlanta,
led Denver with 21 points. His tip-in with 1:14 remaining cut the
Nuggets' deficit to seven, but Kukoc made a long pass to Dion
Glover, who delivered a tomahawk dunk with 39.2 seconds and gave
the Hawks a 97-88 lead.
"He left here with a loss," reserve Hawks center Lorenzen Wright said of Willis. "I don't care if he gets 100 as long as he
leaves here with a loss."
Atlanta is 5-15 since the Feb. 22 trade that sent Mutombo, the
NBA's leading rebounder, and backup forward Roshown McLeod to
Philadelphia for Kukoc, Mohammed and injured center Theo Ratliff.
Even with Mutombo, however, the Hawks were 18-36 and had the
second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
"We've been trying to grow together," said Mohammed, who is
averaging 10.5 points and 8.3 rebounds since arriving in Atlanta.
"We had to learn how to close games out, and we've done that the
last couple of games. This is a totally different team from what
they started the year off with."
Kukoc, averaging 20.4 points, 8.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds with
the Hawks, was undergoing his usual postgame back massage and was
not available for comment.
Antonio McDyess started but left with 4:58 remaining and did not
return. McDyess, who re-injured his left knee in the second quarter
against Charlotte, scored 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting.
"I probably should have sat out," McDyess said. "But I thought I'd give us a better chance to win. You just have to go out there and suck it up."
Mohammed's layup with 4:16 left in the second quarter gave the
Hawks a 40-38 advantage and a lead they never relinquished.
Game notes
Guard Voshon Lenard, whose streak of 58 consecutive starts
ended on March 26 in Chicago, did not play for the first time this
season. Lenard, averaging 12.0 points, was scoreless in seven
minutes on Friday. ... Forward James Posey is the only player to appear in all 74 of Denver's games, and he hobbled off the court late in the fourth quarter. Posey sprained his left foot and was scheduled to have X-rays. ... The Hawks are 19-8 when leading after three quarters. ... George McCloud, whose 3.4 assists average is tied for second on the Nuggets, missed his third straight game with a lower back strain.
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NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Houston 96
Washington 86
Atlanta 99
Denver 88
Miami 97
Chicago 90
Milwaukee 86
San Antonio 77
LA Clippers 104
Cleveland 97
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