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DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap – all former Jazz players – returned to Utah and helped the Hawks to a much-needed 112-110 victory Monday night. An 8-0 fourth-quarter run, with all points coming from Carroll and Korver, fueled the win after the Hawks lost a 17-point lead.
The Hawks snapped a six-game losing streak and won for only the second time in the past 16 games. They return home after a 1-4 western trip on a positive note.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, a win is a win,” Millsap said. “We needed this win bad. We had to stop the bleeding somehow to get momentum going into our final home games.”
The Hawks lost their double-digit lead in the third quarter. After a back-and-forth final period, the Jazz took a 96-93 lead with 3:48 remaining on a 3-pointer by Trey Burke. After a timeout, Korver hit a 3-pointer to tie the score. The Jazz followed with a turnover on an offensive foul by Gordon Hayward. Jeff Teague then missed a drive to the basket but Pero Antic got the rebound and kicked the ball out to Carroll, who drained a 3-pointer for a 99-96 Hawks lead.
The Hawks would not trail again.
“It was a good play that coach drew up,” Korver said of his 3-pointer. “Guys set the screens and I got open. I was wide open. I just had to line it up and knock it down.”
Korver added another basket for a five-point edge. The advantage would grow to nine points, 109-100, with 26.6 seconds left. The Jazz rallied with back-to-back 3-pointers in the last four seconds to make it close.
The Hawks (27-35, 10-24 road) began their five-game trip with a 3-1/2 game lead over the Pistons and Cavaliers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They return home, after getting just one win, with a 3-1/2 lead over the Pistons and Knicks.
Korver finished with a game-high 26 points, including three 3-pointers. Millsap had 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Carroll had 11 points and six rebounds.
The Hawks, who have won six straight over the Jazz, also got 14 points from Teague and 12 points from Antic. Elton Brand had eight points, four rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a key fourth-quarter steal.
“It was a good win,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s good for our guys in the locker room to have that feeling. A lot of guys made big plays on both ends of the court. Everybody that played contributed and helped us find a way to win a game.”
The Jazz (22-42, 14-17 home) have lost six of their past seven games. Trey Burke had 23 points and former Hawk Marvin Williams had 18 points.
The Jazz opened the third quarter on a 30-14 run to completely erase the Hawks’ double-digit lead. They took a 74-73 lead with a Burke layup off a steal with 2:59 left in the period. The Jazz took an 80-78 lead into the final quarter when Hayward dunked a Williams miss just ahead of the buzzer. The Jazz outscored the Hawks 36-19 in the period.
The Hawks led by as many as 17 points in the first half and took a 59-44 edge into halftime. The Hawks outscored the Jazz 31-22 in the second quarter to open up the big lead. Korver had 15 points and Millsap had 11 points through two quarters.
“It feels amazing to get a win and get it here, especially being on a losing streak,” Carroll said. “It feels amazing. We really needed that. We were up on team and we let them come back but we needed that win. Hopefully we can get on a little winning streak.”
The Hawks, who play 13 of their final 20 regular-season games at home, host the Bucks Thursday.
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