Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic exploded for an NBA career-high 40 points during a recent 129-122 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Serbian sharpshooter also nailed a career-best 10 threes on 17 attempts.
Bogdanovic, who has started in over 160 games during his NBA career, came off the bench to produce this masterclass performance. He became the first-ever Hawk to drop 40 points and 10 3-pointers in the same game, as well as the first player from any team to achieve the feat this season. With De’Andre Hunter out for the night, Bogdanovic played 35 minutes and stole most of spot starter Garrison Mathews’ playing time.
In his postgame press conference, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder praised Bogdanovic for his electric night.
“We’ve seen him do that in stretches,” Snyder said. “Our guys were really aware of finding him, and they found him a lot of different ways. They found him in transition. They found him off of screen actions. They found him in pick-and-roll … His performance individually, it was a special night. We want that from him, and he’s capable of doing that.”
In 22 games this season, Bogdanovic has averaged a career-high 17.2 points and a career-high 1.4 steals while shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc on a career-high 8.2 attempts per game. He has played off the bench for Atlanta in all but two contests, making him one of the deadliest microwave scorers from any second unit in the league.
Bogi has also connected on a career-high 56.4% of his two-point attempts while draining a career-high 93.8% of his free throws. Breaking personal records left and right, Bogdanovic is playing the best basketball of his life at 31 years old.
The veteran bucket-getter boasts the second-highest plus-minus of any Hawk this season. Despite the team’s 9-13 record, Bogdanovic is +52 so far. Only three other Hawks own a positive plus-minus up to this point.
The Dec. 11 Nuggets defeat marked four straight losses for the Hawks, who currently sit at the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference with a disappointing 9-13 record. In their next outing, Atlanta will visit a Toronto Raptors squad that trails the Hawks by only half a game in the standings.
With Hunter questionable to return from his latest injury, the Hawks may need to call upon Bogdanovic for some more heavy lifting. Lately, the long-range specialist sure seems up for it.
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