The Atlanta Hawks arrived in Salt Lake City in need of a streak-busting victory. After an ugly performance in Denver and two straight lopsided losses in Los Angeles, a matchup against the Utah Jazz was, on paper, a reprieve on the schedule. However, road games are perilous in the NBA, no matter where they are, and the Jazz entered the game on a two-game winning streak.
From there, Atlanta built a 16-point lead in the first half, but nothing was easy on Tuesday for the Hawks. The scoreboard margin was seven points or fewer for the entire second half, including five points or fewer for the entire fourth quarter, and the Hawks needed to execute to emerge victorious. Fortunately, Trae Young was on Atlanta’s side, pulling the team out of the fire with a walk-off, 50-foot game-winner at the buzzer.
Seconds prior, Utah’s Collin Sexton tied the game with a triple after a broken play, and that was emblematic of the evening for the Hawks. Atlanta’s offense was quite solid, scoring more than 1.2 points per possession, and Young led the way with his third 20-20 game of the season. In the first half, the Hawks dominated the possession game and, while that flattened after the break, Atlanta’s shooting improved in the second half. Utah’s defense is porous, but the Hawks were more than effective in maintaining offensive efficiency despite the absence of Jalen Johnson.
On the other side, the Hawks had issues most of the night, particularly in dealing with Utah’s Lauri Markkanen. His combination of size and play-finishing ability plagued the Hawks, with Atlanta allowing almost 50 three-point attempts and yielding a high volume of quality looks. Inside the arc, the Hawks were potent, holding the Jazz to under 50 percent shooting at the rim and fewer than 40 points in the paint in the game, but Utah’s perimeter shooting was the great equalizer in a game that was all too close.
Still, the Hawks were able to pull out the victory and avoid a fourth consecutive loss. The victory also pushes Atlanta back above the .500 mark for the season, and the Locked On Hawks Podcast will have you covered with detail from this game and more.
