SALT LAKE CITY — Although the Hawks shot well and held the Jazz (8-3) to 15 points in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t put it all together in a 110-98 loss in Salt Lake City Tuesday.
Next up, the Hawks (4-8) will conclude their West Coast road trip Friday in Denver.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. In a couple ways, the Hawks entered this game at a disadvantage. First, they were shorthanded, missing two starters in Bogdan Bogdanovic (right ankle soreness) and De’Andre Hunter (right wrist strain). Second, it’s one of the tougher schedule draws, going from a loss in Golden State (the top team in the west) Monday night, then traveling to Utah (the No. 2 team in the west) for the second half of a back-to-back the very next day.
2. Despite that, the Hawks competed well for stretches, they just couldn’t fire on all cylinders at the same time. They started the first quarter out strong and began the third on an 11-2 run to make up for getting down 17 at one point in the second, and actually put together a solid offensive performance, but couldn’t get stops for most of the game. They did have a better defensive stretch to go on a 14-3 run and narrow the deficit to 98-91 with about eight minutes to play in the fourth, and ultimately held the Jazz to 15 points in the fourth, but only mustered 18 points themselves as their shot cooled off. Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 27 points, adding five assists and three steals.
“I thought we did fight,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “I thought we played hard. The fourth quarter, I think the last seven minutes, we scored four points.”
3. Kevin Huerter tied his career-high with six made 3′s and led the Hawks with a season-high 28 points (11-for-18 field goals, 6-for-9 from 3), adding three rebounds, three assists and two blocks. It seems he’s starting to find a groove after a rough start to the season, coming off the ankle surgery he underwent after last season’s playoffs (Huerter hadn’t even started running until training camp, so it’s taken him a while to work back into shape).
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4. Largely because of Huerter and Trae Young, who added a season-high five made 3′s and finished with 27 points (10-for-21 FG, 5-for-11 from 3, 2-for-2 free throws) and six assists, the Hawks actually had their best 3-point shooting game so far, finishing at 51.4% from beyond the arc (18-for-35). The Jazz shot 39.5% from 3 (15-for-38) and 50.6% from the field (41-for-81).
5. With this loss, the Hawks have dropped five games in a row and seven of their last eight. They fall to 4-8, four games below .500. They’re still on a tough schedule stretch, wrapping up their West Coast road trip Friday in Denver and returning home to face the defending champion Bucks Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Stat of the game: 50.6% (what the Jazz shot from the field in a strong offensive performance)
Star of the game: Mitchell (led the Jazz with 27 points and finished as a plus-15)
Quotable: “Defensively, we’re just not stopping anybody. … We’re not getting stops. We’re playing out of the net, and we’ve just got to work harder at forcing them to shoot over the top and getting stops.” (McMillan on how the Hawks have performed defensively so far this season)
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