Jokic scores 39 points as Nuggets use big fourth quarter to rally for 134-133 win over Hawks

ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 39 points and the Denver Nuggets rallied from 23 points down with a big fourth quarter to beat the Atlanta Hawks 134-133 on Friday night.

Jamal Murray had 23 points and 12 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points for the Nuggets, who have won nine straight road games.

The Hawks had a chance for a tying 3-pointer on their final possession, but Murray blocked the attempt by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The loose ball led to a layup by Alexander-Walker with 2 seconds left, and the Nuggets quickly inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.

Jalen Johnson had 21 points, 18 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists for the Hawks, who have lost three straight. Johnson, who missed Wednesday’s game with a strained calf, became the first Hawks player in the play-by-play era to record a triple-double by halftime. He had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists at the break.

Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points and Kristaps Porzingas had 25.

Jokic shot 2 for 13 in the first half, but ended 13 for 26 and had nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Nuggets trailed 103-94 at the end of the third quarter, but opened the fourth with a 23-3 blitz, all with Jokic on the bench. Cam Johnson had three 3-pointers during the run and the Nuggets hit their first seven 3-pointers of the fourth.

The Hawks took a big lead in the first quarter. Atlanta hit 13 of its first 15 shots and had 13 assists by quarter's end, a season-high for a single quarter. The Hawks led 41-23 at the quarter and their lead topped out at 63-40 in the second quarter.

Nuggets play at Charlotte on Sunday for the third of a four-game trip. Hawks visit Washington on Saturday in their fifth back-to-back this season.

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Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, right, shoots the ball over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Denver Nuggets guard Peyton Watson, center, dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) looks to pass the ball defended by Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, shoots the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

WASHINGTON (AP) — From a surprising heatwave in California to blizzards burying parts of the Midwest and storms rolling into the East Coast, chaotic weather on Monday put more than half the nation’s population in the path of extreme conditions.

Airport delays and cancellations piled up in some of the nation’s largest airports, with more than 4,700 canceled across the U.S., and many schools closed early in the mid-Atlantic states, where high winds were in the forecast.

Torrential rains flooded homes and washed out roads in Hawaii while dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history.

In Washington, the House and Senate postponed votes, and federal agencies told workers to go home early. But by late afternoon, the expected rough weather had failed to develop and a tornado watch expired.

The private weather service AccuWeather calculated that more than 200 million people were under threat Monday of some kind of dangerous weather.

Those range from extreme heat and wildfire advisories to flood and freeze watches from the National Weather Service.

The storm system that dropped snow by the foot in the Midwest, causing whiteout conditions in some areas, barreled toward the East Coast, dropping heavy rain, threatening high winds and prompting multiple tornado warnings.

The biggest threat for severe weather stretched from New Jersey to Virginia.

In New York City, officials warned of the potential for swift wind gusts overnight that could knock down tree limbs.

Four people, including a child, died Monday afternoon in New York City after a fire in a three-story apartment building spread during heavy winds.

The National Weather Service confirmed four tornadoes in Missouri on Sunday that caused roof and tree damage. No injuries were reported.

Blizzard conditions continued in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday after the storm walloped parts of Wisconsin and Michigan with several feet of snow.

Since Saturday, nearly 3 feet (61 centimeters) had fallen in the northern Wisconsin town of Mountain.

Another round of snow and gusts on Monday could bring another foot of snow across Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

A heat dome over the Southwest will push temperatures well into the triple digits in Arizona most of the week, much earlier than normal.

California is starting to feel like summer too. The San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento will see temperatures pushing toward 90 F (32 C) by midweek.

“This is technically still winter,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said Monday. “This is not normal for March, obviously, but it is a sign of how climate change is impacting our city.”

While temperatures are expected to reach 100 F (37.8 C), the threat of wildfires around Los Angeles is relatively low because winds will be light.

Phoenix is expected to have five straight days of triple digit temperatures this week — only once before, in 1988, has the city recorded a 100 F day in March, DePodwin said.

“This is a heat wave that we have not seen before in recorded history in the Southwest,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Dan DePodwin.

Dry and windy conditions were charging the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history. Three fires in the state have consumed more than 1,140 square miles (about 2,953 square kilometers) of mostly grassland.

“Mother Nature is throwing a doozy at us,” Gov. Jim Pillen said Monday.

Unrelenting rains triggered landslides, washed away roads and flooded homes and farmland in Hawaii over the weekend.

All of Hawaii’s islands had spots with more than 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain while parts of Maui were overwhelmed with double that amount, the weather service said.

While the worst of the storm has passed, more heavy rain is expected later this week. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said there were no reports of injuries or deaths and crews were assessing damage.

Forecasters said the East Coast storms were expected to leave sharply colder weather in its wake.

The storm will stick around parts of the Northeast until Tuesday morning. By then, wind chills below freezing were expected to reach the Gulf Coast and the Florida Panhandle with warnings in effect across the Southeast and in part of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas, forecasters warned.

To the north, rain was expected to change over to snow behind the cold front with heavy snow possible in the central Appalachians of West Virginia.

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Brumfield reported from Cockeysville, Maryland, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; Julie Walker in New York; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; and Gary Fields in Washington contributed.

Debris covers a beach in Kihei, Hawaii, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Eli Pace/The Maui News via AP)

Visitors carrying umbrellas during heavy rain walk past the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March, 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Visitors take cover during heavy rain near the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

People watch as storms roll over the U.S. Capitol Monday, March 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Morning traffic is seen on Lake Shore Drive, after the overnight snow, Monday, March 16, 2026, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Dense fog and low clouds cover parts of the George Washington Bridge as seen from Fort Lee, N.J., Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A person bundles up and fishes on a breakwater by Montrose Harbor, Monday morning, March 16, 2026, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A man shovels snow after a snowstorm Monday, March 16, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Snow is plowed after a snowstorm Monday, March 16, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Victor Alomoto who is from Ecuador cleared the sidewalk for the River Valley Church in the North Loop Pedestrians during the snow storm in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, March 15, 2026.(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Ogo Akpati and his son Brycson Akpati, 3, braved the strong winds and had fun sliding down a hill in Central Park Sunday, March 15,2026 in Brooklyn Park, MN. (Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Fans walk through snowy streets before an NHL hockey game between the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in St. Paul. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People drive on a snow-covered freeway during a snow storm Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Workers clear snow off the ground Sunday, March 15, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)