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Hawks 112, Jazz 110
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — Guard Kyle Korver scored 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and forward Paul Millsap added 23 points to help the Atlanta Hawks escape with a 112-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Hawks (27-35). Atlanta shot 48.7 percent (38-for-78) from the field and 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from 3-point range.
Guard Trey Burke had 23 points to lead the Jazz, and forward Marvin Williams added 18. Seven Utah players scored in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Jazz (22-42) from suffering their sixth loss in the past seven games.
Guard Alec Burks hit a jumper and made two free throws to give the Jazz an 84-80 lead early in the fourth quarter. Atlanta never fell further behind.
The Hawks stayed within striking distance and moved in front once more, going ahead for good when Korver and forward DeMarre Carroll hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Korver added a jumper to give Atlanta a 101-96 lead with 1:35 left.
Korver had the hot hand for the Hawks in the opening quarter. He made four of five shots to open the game and helped Atlanta build an early lead. Korver’s fourth basket — a mid-range jumper — sparked a 9-2 Hawks run that ended with a 3-pointer by Carroll, giving Atlanta a 22-14 lead.
The Jazz closed within 28-27 after Burks stole the ball from center Mike Muscala and fed forward Jeremy Evans for a dunk. Atlanta responded with a 12-0 run to push the lead to 40-27 with 6:50 left before halftime. The Hawks burned Utah from the perimeter during the spurt. Three players hit 3-pointers, ending with a dagger from Korver.
Atlanta led by as many 17 points three different times before halftime, going up by that margin the final time when guard Jeff Teague hit two free throws to make it 59-42 with 13.8 seconds left.
Utah came to life in the third quarter by heating up from outside. Burke buried back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Jazz within 62-52. The Jazz then scored on four consecutive possessions — culminating in high-flying dunk from forward Richard Jefferson — to cut the deficit to single digits.
The Jazz finally took their first lead since the 8:02 mark of the first quarter when Burke made a fastbreak layup to cap a 20-7 run, putting Utah ahead 74-73.
NOTES: PF Paul Millsap and SF DeMarre Carroll returned to play in a regular-season game in Utah for the first time since signing with the Hawks in the offseason. Millsap averaged 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds during his Jazz career, while Carroll contributed 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds. … Millsap is the only NBA player averaging at least 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks this season. His averages coming into Monday’s game were 17.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks. … C Derrick Favors has a team-best 19 double-doubles (points and rebounds) for Utah this season. … Before Monday, Jazz G Alec Burks averaged 19.6 points over the previous 12 home games. He scored 12 points against the Hawks.
