Belt game 2,723 · December 30, 1977
Denver Nuggets take the belt
Denver Nuggets beat Atlanta Hawks 106–104 on the road to start reign 1,221 of the NBA belt, the 7th for the franchise.
Atlanta Hawks had held it since December 28, 1977, with 0 defenses over 2 days.
Denver Nuggets held it for 20 days and 7 defenses, then lost it to Milwaukee Bucks on January 19, 1978.
1,221Reign number
7Team's reign
7Defenses
20Days held
Box score
Atlanta Hawks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Drew | 29 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7-14 | — | 11-13 |
| Ollie Johnson | 26 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7-9 | — | 3-3 |
| Steve Hawes | 19 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5-9 | — | 7-7 |
| Armond Hill | 26 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5-8 | — | 6-7 |
| Eddie Johnson | 35 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5-13 | — | 4-5 |
| Tree Rollins | 19 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3-5 | — | 0-0 |
| John Brown | 29 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-6 | — | 2-2 |
| Claude Terry | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-3 | — | 1-2 |
| Charlie Criss | 38 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0-5 | — | 0-0 |
| Tom McMillen | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-4 | — | 0-0 |
| Tony Robertson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | — | 0-0 |
Denver Nuggets
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Issel | 29 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10-14 | — | 12-15 |
| David Thompson | 34 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7-17 | — | 12-14 |
| Mack Calvin | 21 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4-8 | — | 6-7 |
| Bob Wilkerson | 33 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5-11 | — | 2-2 |
| Jim Price | 38 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2-7 | — | 4-4 |
| Bobby Jones | 35 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3-6 | — | 0-0 |
| Bo Ellis | 22 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2-4 | — | 0-0 |
| Tom LaGarde | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1-2 | — | 2-2 |
| Anthony Roberts | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | — | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).