Salt Lake City —- The Hawks' struggles with the Utah Jazz had reached epic proportions until this season.

The tide turned, though, when the Hawks ended their nine-game losing streak to Jerry Sloan's team with a 116-111 victory at Philips Arena on Dec. 17.

That victory also guaranteed that the Hawks wouldn't be swept in the season series for the fifth consecutive season and the eighth time in the past 10.

Their fortunes here in the state of Utah, however, remain fruitless.

The Hawks' 100-94 loss Saturday night at Energy Solutions Arena was their 14th consecutive here, dating to Feb. 13, 1993, when a 43-point outburst by Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins drove the Hawks when they last won here.

A night after stunning the Golden State Warriors on their home floor, the Hawks (22-31) simply couldn't make enough clutch shots or take care of the ball well enough to pull another stunner.

The Hawks turned the ball over 22 times, resulting in 25 points for the Jazz, the miscues negating a yeoman's effort from the starting unit, which scored all but 12 of the Hawks' points.

"We turned the ball over so many times that we didn't give ourselves an opportunity to score the ball," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "You can't do that on the road. I thought our effort was tremendous. We were right there defensively. And we were right there at the end. For the most part we executed, and the effort was real high."

They trailed 90-87 with 1:59 to play, having battled back twice from double-digit deficits to get there.

Yet for every clutch shot they made, the Jazz had an answer, usually from All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer, who finished his night with 21 points and 12 rebounds and led six Jazz players in double figures.

The Hawks squandered huge nights from Josh Smith (game-high 30 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks), Mike Bibby (18 points and nine assists) and Joe Johnson (14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists).

"It seemed like when we [the starters] went out, they stretched the lead each time," Smith said. "We came in and made runs, but that team plays hard, and it's hard to try and beat them when you're down at their place."

After trailing by as many as 19 points midway through the second quarter, the Hawks took the lead in the third. They went ahead 58-56 on a Smith layup with 6:01 to play in the quarter.

And they took that lead without Bibby on the floor; he went to the bench with his fourth foul with 8:24 to play.

But they went nearly four minutes without a basket after that, and the Jazz led 73-62 at the end of the quarter.

The Jazz lead was back to 14 three minutes into the fourth quarter, and it was clear that the Hawks had no answer for Boozer, who not only was scoring inside but also was facilitating for others while Deron Williams rested on the bench.

But the Hawks battled back again, turning it into a one-possession game down the stretch, only to come up short on the road for the 20th time this season in 27 tries.

It was the Hawks' fourth game with Bibby, who has quickly emerged as the team's leader. And like many others in attendance, he saw signs of fight that make him feel good about the Hawks' chances in the days and weeks to come.

"We're having to fight out of holes, and that's the major problem right now," said Bibby, who made four of his seven shots from beyond the 3-point line and outproduced Williams, who finished with 12 points and six assists.

"It's going to happen, though. You can see it. It's going to happen."

NEXT FOR HAWKS

> Who: at Spurs

> When: 8:30 p.m. Monday

> TV; radio: SportSouth; 790 AM