The Hawks are rolling.
After overcoming an 13-point first-half deficit, the Hawks rallied for a 91-84 victory over the Jazz Tuesday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena. They did so behind a second strong effort from Jeff Teague.
The Hawks (36-28) have won three straight and five of their past six games. They are now 3-1 on a five-game road trip. They only blemish was an overtime loss to the Warriors. They are eight games over .500 with their season best being nine games after a win over the Trail Blazers on Jan. 20.
The Hawks remain fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 18 games remaining in the regular season. They are one game ahead of the idle Hornets and 1-1/2 games behind the idle Heat.
The Jazz (29-34) have lost six of the past seven games.
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Jeff Teague: Playing in his 500th career game, the Hawks point guard had 24 points and six assists.
Paul Millsap: The Hawks forward finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Al Horford: The Hawks center eclipsed the 8,000 career-point mark with 11 points.
Five observations
1. Halftime speech
The Hawks continued their strong play out of halftime with a solid and decisive third quarter. They outscored the Jazz 25-15 in the period and led by as many as 11 points. The Hawks were 9 of 20 from the field, including 4 of 10 from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyle Korver, Horford and Teague all had long-distance makes in the quarter. The Jazz, by stark contrast, were just 5 of 23 from the field during the quarter.
2. Hawks answer
The Hawks fell behind by 13 points in the second quarter. They responded with a 19-4 run to turn the deficit into a three-point advantage, 41-38. During the Hawks’ run, the Jazz went 1 of 14 from the field with three turnovers. Teague had eight points and Millsap had seven points in the second quarter for the Hawks. The Jazz closed the half with four points to take a 42-41 lead into intermission.
3. Jazz start fast
The Jazz jumped out early. They lead by as many as 11 points in the first quarter as they shot 47.8 percent (11 of 23) from the field. The Hawks committed five turnovers and most were unforced and sloppy. The Jazz built a 13-point advantage, 35-22, in the second quarter on a four-point play by Joe Ingles. The forward hit a 3-pointer and Hardaway was called for a questionable foul on the play when he appeared he got elbowed in the neck. The Jazz went ice cold after the play.
4. Remember me?
The Hawks were in the game early because of Millsap, the former long-time Jazz player. The Hawks forward had 12 first-half points. At one point in the second quarter, he had 11 of the Hawks’ 22 points. He attempted a dunk over 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert in the first quarter but the attempt came down on the front of the rim.
5. Mack struggles
Shelvin Mack struggled against his former team. Weeks after being traded to the Jazz at the NBA trade deadline, Mack has played well in a starting role. He couldn’t keep up with the Hawks. He made just one of his 12 shots and finished 2 of 13 for five points. At the half, Mack was 1 of 8 for three points with four rebounds, three turnovers and two assists. Mack also had trouble guarding Teague.
