Jalen Johnson returned to the starting line up for the Atlanta Hawks Friday but it was not enough to overcome the Utah Jazz on the road, falling 124-122. Atlanta has now lost the first two games of their five-game western road trip, with games against both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, and the Phoenix Suns looming. As a basketball fan this was a great game, and came right down to the wire. The Hawks even had a chance to win this one at the buzzer, but Vit Krejci missed a 26-foot three pointer.
Dejounte Murray did his best to keep Atlanta in this one with 33 points and 9 assists, but was subpar from the field going 10 of 27, and 5 of 14 from three. The return of Johnson was a welcomed sight for Hawks’ fans, in a season where the team has only played eight games with a fully healthy roster. Johnson was a bit rusty from the field, going 8 of 23 overall, but a respectable 4 of 8 from downtown, finishing with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
De’Andre Hunter had a superb game off the bench scoring 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting. Clint Capela grabbed another double-double of 10 points, 15 rebounds and added 2 blocks to his tally. Yet, it was not enough to overcome the Jazz, as they had six players score in double figures.
Former-Hawk, John Collins, played much better in his second game against his former club than he did in Atlanta. He shot an efficient 7 of 10 from the field and finished with 18 points, and 11 rebounds. Keyonte George of the Jazz was their high-man with 25 points, and Collin Sexton poured in 21, as well.
Even with their third straight loss, the Hawks are still holding firm on the 10th seed and final play-in spot for the Eastern Conference. Moving up the standings will be a challenge, but the Brooklyn Nets are 3.5 games back of the Hawks with about a month of basketball remaining in the regular season.
The Hawks will head to LA next to take on the four seed in the West, the Clippers. James Harden is a game-time decision for LA, but Atlanta will have their hands full with a deep Clippers team. Tip-off from the crypto.com Arena will be at 9:30 p.m. eastern.
