Nikola Jokic recorded his 25th triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Atlanta Hawks 142-110 on Saturday.

Jokic finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a game-high 24 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 20 for the Nuggets (54-24), who have won three of their last four and are now a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference.

For Denver, Reggie Jackson scored 18 points off the bench, Jamal Murray had 16, and Peyton Watson had 13.Clint Capela led the Hawks (36-42) with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while De’Andre Hunter and Bodgan Bogdanovic both had 18. Jalen Johnson scored 17 points for Atlanta, which lost its second consecutive game and currently occupies the Eastern Conference’s final play-in position. Dejounte Murray scored 14 points, while Garrison Mathews had 11.

Murray’s three in the first quarter gave Atlanta its first lead of the game at 16 seconds. Denver then responded with a 28-15 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Jokic with 2:47 remaining.

Bruno Fernando’s bucket cut the Hawks’ deficit to 31-26 before Watson’s tip-in layup with two seconds left in the first quarter.Denver started the second quarter on an 8-0 run, increasing their lead to 41-26 on Jackson’s layup with 9:11 left in the half.

After trailing by as many as 16, Atlanta sliced the Nuggets’ lead in half at 2:32 with Dejounte Murray’s 3-pointer, reducing Denver’s lead to 61-53.

Caldwell-Pope’s triple gave Denver a 69-56 halftime advantage.

Caldwell-Pope led the Nuggets with 13 points in the first half, while Hunter had 12 for the Hawks.

With 8:40 left in the third quarter, the Hawks were able to cut Denver’s lead to nine points, 80-71, thanks to Murray’s three-pointer.

However, the Nuggets pulled away with a 13-5 run, establishing a 93-76 lead on Christian Braun’s 3-pointer at 5:55 in the third.

Leading 101-84 late in the quarter, Denver went on a 9-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back buckets by Jackson, to take a dominating 110-84 lead.

Denver beat Atlanta 31-24 in the fourth quarter, with Hunter Tyson’s layup tying the Nuggets’ season high.

Denver shot 53-for-88 (60.2 percent) from the field and 23-for-41 (56.1 percent) from three-point range, while Atlanta shot 37-for-87 (42.5 percent) from the field and 12-for-37 (32.4 percent) from beyond the arc.