Atlanta Hawks pick up a much-needed 112-110 win against Utah Jazz
Mar 10, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Atlanta Hawks shooting guard
Kyle Korver(26) and Utah Jazz point guard
Diante Garrett(8) scramble for a loose ball during the second quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Hawks finally won a basketball game. Finally.
It’s been a long time, (seven games actually) but the Hawks were finally able to put together a full game and get a much-needed 112-110 win against the Utah Jazz. This win also ended a 10-game losing streak on the road and turned a terrible trip out west into just a bad one.
In this one, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap were the players who put Atlanta over the top in this one, with both guys making key plays to hold onto the lead late in the game. The Hawks used an explosive 34-point fourth quarter to close this one out, but the Jazz still made things messy with a 10-3 run in the last 26 seconds of the game.
Without some of the key shots from Korver and Millsap (and probably Jeff Teague as well, even though he missed two free throws down that stretch) late in the game this one could have easily been another tally in the loss column.
Korver led both teams in scoring with a terrific shooting night and finished with 26 points. He was a perfect 4-4 from the 3-point in addition to a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
Millsap led the Hawks on the glass and scored the second-highest point total for Atlanta with eight boards and 23 points. He shot 7-14 from the floor and added two 3-pointers of his own in addition to going 7-8 from the free throw line.
Jeff Teague added 14 points and six assists.
Hopefully, this game will turn the switch for the Hawks, because they need it. After winning just two of their last 16 games, they have slipped to the bottom of the division and are on the brink of missing the playoffs entirely. In the Eastern Division, that’s bad news. It’s time to kick things into gear and get back on track.
Fortunately for Atlanta, the road trip is over and they will have two games back at home starting with Milwaukee on Thursday and then Denver on Saturday.