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Utah Jazz Defeat Atlanta Hawks 116-98

The Atlanta Hawks fall under .500 for the first time this season.

Pat Benson

© Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Everything was shaping up for a great night in Atlanta. From the new Nike City Edition Uniforms to the pregame recognition of Renee Montgomery. Even a few of the world champion Braves players were in attendance. 

Despite their cold shooting, the Hawks only trailed by 1 point after three quarters. Without Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz offensive was sloppy and turned the ball over at a high rate for most of the game. Then reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson took over in the fourth quarter. The Jazz outscored the Hawks 41-24 in the fourth quarter, to win the game 116-98.

When it was all said and done, the Jazz prolific offense hit 41-81 (50%) of their field goals and 17-41 (41.5%) of their threes. On defense, they did a good job of containing (not stopping) Trae Young. They picked Young up full court and regularly trapped him to get the ball out of his hands.

Following the game, Young took to the podium in a SO SO DEF shirt, a backward black snapback hat, and enough jewelry for all of 'Gucci Row'. His icy fit didn't match his fiery mood. For a few minutes, media members received a totally honest opinion from Young. 

Young said he needed to be more aggressive and start looking for his shot first. He openly acknowledged there is a struggle among players to get into the rotation and it's impacting the team's performance. Additionally, they needed to find their playoff intensity again. "We're kind of just playing for flow. Everyone wants to get it and feel good and everything like that, but at the end of the day, if we're not winning it doesn't matter."

Once again, Hawks Coach Nate McMillan diagnosed the problem as bad offensive possessions translating to poor defense. He acknowledged Clarkson's hot shooting but added, "A lot of it was the pick and roll - getting downhill. It starts with controlling the basketball and we didn't do that again in the second half. I mean 77 points and in the second half, I can't explain it."

It appears that Lou Williams has replaced Delon Wright as the backup point guard. Coach McMillan said he would continue to evaluate that position as well as all of the others. "We need a spark. We need some energy to lift us. We need some guys that will go out there and defend. We need two-way players and not just all of your energy focused on one end of the floor."

Tomorrow the Hawks (4-5) catch a flight to Phoenix to play the Suns on Saturday. After ESPN's bombshell story, the Suns organization is embroiled in a controversy that will not be resolved anytime soon. Stay locked into AllHawks.com as we keep you updated with breaking news and analysis for your Atlanta Hawks.

Hawks Stats Leaders

Trae Young - 21 PTS, 7 AST

De'Andre Hunter- 14 PTS, 2 REB

Clint Capela - 13 PTS, 10 REB

Jazz Stats Leaders

Jordan Clarkson - 30 PTS, 4 AST

Bojan Bogdanovic - 23 PTS, 5 REB

Joe Ingles - 19 PTS, 4 REB

Other Observations

The Hawks shot 7-28 (25%) from behind the arc.

Solomon Hill was the only Hawks player not to play.

Despite their depth, the Hawks bench struggled again tonight.

Kevin Huerter and Cam Reddish both had cold shooting performances.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the Atlanta Hawks for Sports Illustrated's All Hawks. He has covered the NBA for several years and is the author of "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)".

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