Five observations from Hawks’ 97-96 loss to the Jazz
The Hawks fell into another deficit they could not overcome.
After falling behind by seven points in the fourth quarter, the Hawks came back only to fall 97-96 to the Jazz on Sunday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (8-4) had a excellent chance to win but a Paul Millsap short jumper at the buzzer rolled off the rim. The Hawks have lost three of seven home games this season.
Here are five observations of the Hawks loss:
Three key players
Derrick Favors: The Jazz forward and Georgia Tech alum finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. His jumper with 38.3 seconds left gave the Jazz a four-point lead that held up.
Paul Millsap: He scored a game-high 28 points and added six rebounds. He just missed a chance to win it.
Al Horford: He hit two corner 3-pointers with under two minutes remaining to bring the Hawks back from the seven-point deficit. His second closed the Hawks to within 97-96 with under a minute left. He finished with 16 points.
Five observations
Decisive run
The Jazz used a 12-1 early in the fourth quarter to gain some separation en route to the win. After trailing by three points, the run put them up 85-80. The Jazz led by as many as seven before the Hawks pulled to within two points, 95-93, with 1:32 remaining.
New point guard duo
With Jeff Teague sidelined with a left ankle sprain, the Hawks turned to Dennis Schroder and Shelvin Mack to run the point. The Hawks missed Teague but the new pair were solid. Schroder finished with 11 points and eight assists while Mack finished with seven points and two assists in his only his third appearance of the season.
Millsap-Favors battle
Millsap and Favors put on a show in the third quarter from the power forward position. Each finished with 11 points in the period. Favors, who played at South Atlanta High School, got a little more help from his teammates as the Jazz outscored the Hawks 27-22 in the quarter and erased a halftime deficit. Millsap was 4-of-5 and Favors was 5-of-8 in the quarter.
Second-quarter surge
The Hawks outscored the Jazz 18-5 to end second quarter and take a seven-point halftime advantage. Kent Bazemore scored seven straight points during the run. His 3-pointer with 3:03 remaining gave the Hawks their first lead of the game, 45-43. Bazemore finished with 12 first-half points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range. The Hawks also forced the Jazz into 14 first-half turnovers that included six steals.
Nice touch
The Hawks held a moment of silence followed by the French National Anthem prior to the game following the tragic events in Paris on Friday. The court projection system had an image of the French flag. The Hawks’ Sixth Man section also held up a flag. Jazz center Rudy Gobert is a French national.
About the Author
Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.
