Even MVPs need a little affirmation from their coaches sometimes, maybe. Or maybe the Nuggets’ last two games were just a brief glitch in the cheat code that is Nikola Jokic.

After Jokic’s second consecutive poor shooting night Friday in Denver, Michael Malone checked on his star center “to make sure that he is not losing any confidence — which knowing him, I know he won’t,” Malone said. “But I want to make sure he’s not.”

That conversation might as well represent the overall state of the defending NBA champs after their third consecutive loss. Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray have all faced setbacks or slumps early this season, but the full trio briefly resembled its 2023 playoff form Monday night during a 129-122 Nuggets win over the Hawks at State Farm Arena.

Jokic bounced back from his 18-for-58 shooting stretch with 25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks.

Gordon, whose scoring has been down with 12.5 points per game entering Atlanta, got back to being a battering ram with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Murray, in his third game back from injury, shined the most with 29 points including key threes as Atlanta tried to erase a big deficit late.

The three combined to shoot 28-for-38 from the field.

But for the Nuggets (15-9) to snap their skid and pick up their sixth road win of 2023-24, they needed a spark from a rookie. That’s what Julian Strawther seems to be best at.

Denver trailed by as many as 11 in a defensively lackluster first half, but the late first-round pick led a comeback going into halftime with one of his increasingly recognizable heat-check games.

Strawther made his first five 3-point attempts to score 19 of his 22 points in 16 first-half minutes, also providing much-needed defensive energy with four steals by the intermission.

Out of one Denver timeout during the rally, Strawther scored driving via a designed dribble handoff from Michael Porter Jr., staggering again with the second unit. In their first possession after another timeout later in the quarter, the Nuggets drew up a Jokic handoff that resulted in the rookie’s fifth 3-pointer. They mustered a 65-62 lead going into the locker room, then they rode their starters to a 20-point advantage in the third quarter.

Denver was also on the receiving end of technical foul free throws this time, three days after mounting frustration with officiating resulted in a Murray ejection. Atlanta star point guard Trae Young was thrown out of the game when he received two swift technicals late in the third, as the Hawks were attempting to slowly climb back. Without Young, they closed the gap to five with 32 seconds left as Denver got haphazard with the ball and sloppy defending the perimeter.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 40 on a remarkable 10-of-17 outside shooting.

In the paint, where they are typically most effective, Jokic and Gordon spent the most of their time harassing Atlanta’s front court. Zeke Nnaji was back in the starting lineup as Denver’s backup center when they sat, after Malone’s four games of DeAndre Jordan substitutions. Nnaji’s twelve minutes were mostly fruitful, with several educational moments. In the second quarter, he found himself isolated until Young set him up for a simple floater.

He made amends at the other end with a put-back and-one. Additionally, he stopped a Bogdanovic three-pointer, but Nnaji lost frustration when Bogdanovic regained possession and scored two. The big man in his fourth year finished with two blocks and four rebounds.