Jamal Crawford took a few steps over the half court line and measured up the Atlanta Hawks net as the clock neared the end of the quarter. Swish. It's been that kind of end to the road trip for the Hawks.
Josh Smith has eight points and Joe Johnson posted five to lead the Hawks to a 25-21 lead over the Denver Nuggets through one quarter at the Staples Center.
Kirk Hinrich (calf) is sitting out this one for Atlanta, which shot 46-percent (10-for-22) from the field.
Ironically, the Nuggets, who are playing this one without forward Danilo Gallinari, have identical numbers (10-for-22) from the field.
But it's rebounding, attacking the post and Jamal's big 3-pointer that has been the difference.
Atlanta, which held a 14-10 edge on the glass hopes to escape from Denver with a win to end their seven-game road trip at 4-3. The Hawks have not won at the Pepsi Center since the 2006-2007 campaign.