Fatigue and attrition had this one almost resembling a weekend pickup game by the end.
“Did it look like an over-40 league out there?” Hawks center Zaza Pachulia joked after Atlanta defeated Utah 139-133 in four overtimes at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (30-20) earned their fourth consecutive victory and sixth in seventh games. Atlanta became the fifth team this season to win all three games in a back-to-back-to-back, joining Miami, Oklahoma City, Chicago and Phoenix.
It took the Hawks nearly 3 hours, 17 minutes to do it. It was Atlanta's first four-overtime game since Feb. 19, 1982 against Seattle.
“Everybody was saying, ‘Somebody is going to give,'” Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. “It was fun. I think everyone was enjoying themselves.”
The Hawks could smile after outlasting the Jazz, whose league-high six game winning streak came to an end. Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who had forced the third overtime with a 3-pointer, scored eight points in the final period to finally finish off Utah (26-23).
Johnson scored a game-high 37 points. He played all 20 minutes of the four overtime periods for a total of 55 minutes in the game.
“He was really good,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “We were going to make him the first option. I kept asking him if he wanted a blow, but he said, ‘No,' so I rode him.”
Teague played all but one second of the four overtime periods and totaled 52 minutes for the game. Pachulia sat just 17 seconds once overtime started and played 54 minutes total.
It was the longest game in the NBA since Phoenix and Portland played a four-overtime game on Nov. 14, 1997. There now have been just 12 games of at least four overtimes in NBA history.
The Hawks also played a total of four overtime periods during their first stretch of three games in three nights in January. They lost 116-109 to Miami in triple overtime before defeating Charlotte 102-96 in overtime the next night.
Each team had a good chance to end the game in regulation.
The Hawks had the ball with 19 seconds to go and the shot clock off but Johnson missed a clean look from nine feet on a drive. Utah rebounded, leading to Paul Milsap's missed shot at the buzzer from close range.
Each team managed to score just two points in the fist overtime. Utah guard Devin Harris missed a jump shot at the buzzer.
In the second overtime Al Jefferson scored on a hook shot for the go-ahead basket and Devin Harris made a leaning jump shot with 14.9 seconds left. But Johnson made a step-back 3-pointer over Jefferson's outstretched arm to force the third extra period.
The third overtime ended in a 123-123 tie after Jefferson and Hawks forward Marvin Williams each scored in the final minute. Milsap missed another shot at the buzzer with a chance to win.
The Hawks led 55-40 at halftime after shooting 51 percent. It didn't last, though.
At the start of the third quarter Utah turned up its defensive pressure, especially against Johnson, and Hawks forward Josh Smith went to the bench with his fourth personal foul early in period.
With Atlanta's two best offensive players stymied, Utah's quicker pace led to both scoring chances in transition and crisper offense in the halfcourt. The Jazz scored the first 11 points of the third quarter.
The Hawks showed no sign of fatigue while starting the game strong.
Johnson buried the Jazz under an assortment of fadeaway jump shots, cuts to the basket and spot-up 3-pointers while making his first eight shots. For his eighth field goal, Johnson dribbled out the clock at the end of the period and sank a jump shot under pressure at the buzzer.
That staked the Hawks to a 29-22 lead and they continued to pour it on the second quarter. Their reserves maintained a 39-31 lead when the starters, led by Smith, returned to the game and continued to dominate Utah.
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