ATLANTA — Before the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets played Friday, Denver coach David Adelman described Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson as a “multi-time All-Star.”
It didn’t take Johnson long to show why.
He registered a triple-double in the first half, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, as Atlanta streaked out to a 19-point lead at the break before the Nuggets came back to win 134-133.
Johnson finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists, with the assists setting a new career high and the rebounds tying one.
Johnson became the sixth NBA player and first Atlanta Hawk to register a triple-double by halftime. The others: Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Johnson. The fifth-year Hawks forward posted his triple-double in 16 minutes and 44 seconds, making it the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history. Jokić achieved those stats in 14:33 in 2018.
“We feed off him,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after the game. “He has the ability to impact the game at multiple levels, and his stat line represents that.”
Coincidentally, Johnson’s opponent Friday was Jokić, who came in averaging a triple-double but failed to register one on this night. Jokić got the last laugh, however, by scoring 30 points in the second half to lead the Nuggets’ comeback and finishing with 40 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Jokić scored Denver’s last 11 points to hold off a final Atlanta charge, and threw the ball ahead to Jamal Murray to run out the final two seconds on the clock after the Hawks, trailing by 3, scored a 2-point layup by Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
THE DEFENSE FROM THE NUGGETS ON THIS FINAL POSSESSION 🔒
Denver gets the win over Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/gHwVDxiewl
— NBA (@NBA) December 6, 2025
Johnson eclipsed the assist milestone first — unusual for a triple-double — and didn’t get the last two categories until a single play in the last 90 seconds of the first half. Johnson got an offensive rebound and missed the put-back but then regained possession and put in the layup to give him double figures in all three categories.
Before that, Johnson was dominating the game with sizzling passes. He sent a one-handed crosscourt dart to set up center Onyeka Okongwu for one corner 3, and whizzed an outlet pass just past a defender’s outstretched arms to set up guard Alexander-Walker for a transition layup. His 12 dimes by halftime are already his second most of the season, eclipsed only by his 14 in a November win over the Utah Jazz. That game was also one of his two other triple-doubles this season.
The fifth-year Hawks forward is emerging as an All-Star-caliber player. Coming into this game, Johnson was averaging 23.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in leading the Hawks to a 13-10 record despite missing multi-time All-Star Trae Young for the majority of the season.
