The Atlanta Hawks escaped Utah with a 115-108 victory over the Jazz on Friday night.
This one was closer than it should have been, as the Hawks held a 22-point lead in the first half, and led by as many as 15 points in the 4th quarter. However, behind some incredible shot-making from Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz were able to cut the Hawks’ lead to 5 points with 3:18 to play. A three-pointer from rookie, Ochai Agbaji, brought the lead down to just 4 points with 36 seconds remaining before a dagger three from De’Andre Hunter iced the game for Atlanta.
Two of the biggest differences between these teams tonight were in their ball movement and shot selection. The Hawks did a good job finding the open man, assisting on 28 of their 44 made field goals, while the Jazz registered assists on just 21 of their 40 made field goals. In addition to sharing the ball, the Hawks also made a noticeable effort to attack the basket tonight, winning the points-in-the-paint battle 56-46. With neither team shooting the ball particularly well*, this was especially important to the team’s success tonight.
*(The Hawks shot 10/37 (27%), and the Jazz went 13/44 (29.5%) from three tonight)
De’Andre Hunter poured in a season-high 26 points on 10/15 shooting, with 19 of his points coming in the 2nd half. Trae Young racked up 27 points to go along with 6 assists. Onyeka Okongwu was a beast, contributing a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double. Despite struggling with his shot tonight (5/16 shooting), Dejounte Murray led the team in assists tonight with 8 dimes to go along with 13 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic did a little bit of everything tonight, adding 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Lauri Markanen led the way for Utah with 25 points and 10 rebounds on 8/19 shooting. Jordan Clarkson added 24 points. Mike Conley finished 20 points and 8 assists, though he committed a season-high 5 turnovers.
Atlanta’s record is now 27-26, and the team will look to pick up their third-straight victory tonight against the magical Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Tipoff is at 9pm on Bally Sports!
