Coming off of a brutal loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks came out with much better energy and effort, showcasing their potential. In the end, though, Lloyd Pierce’s men dropped another home game, losing 111-106 to the Utah Jazz.
“If we play that way, with energy and effort, we’re going to be able to turn things around and win a lot of games,” Trae Young said postgame.
The Hawks created turnovers that led to easy transition buckets and got major contributions from Cam Reddish and Jabari Parker early on.
In the first quarter, De’Andre Hunter picked up two quicks fouls and was quickly subbed out for DeAndre’ Bembry, forcing Pierce to revert to more small ball.
Reddish was aggressive early in the first quarter, creating free throw opportunities and hitting a 3-pointer late to finish the quarter with seven points.
Parker led all scorers in the quarter with 11, shooting 5-for-6 from the field. However, the Jazz kept it close, as foul trouble continued to hurt Pierce’s men.
In the second quarter, Young was more aggressive with his touches, converting easy baskets and getting to the rim with ease. The guard sparked a second quarter run to extend his team’s lead to as much as 11. He finished with 11 points of his own in the quarter.
Utah’s offense didn’t have the same fluidity and movement without Donovan Mitchell on the floor. When Mitchell returned, the lead began to slim and Hawks guard Kevin Huerter had a rough stretch with a missed dunk, a turnover and a silly foul, sending Rudy Gobert to the line. Turnovers slowed down the Hawks offense and allowed the Jazz to cut into the lead to only 4 by the half.
In the third quarter, Utah came out hot with an 8-3 run and Pierce’s team looking stagnant, which prompted an early timeout. Soon after, the Jazz built a five-point lead. Parker was able to hit timely shots in the quarter, though, and helped keep the Hawks in the game. The Hawks clung to an 84-83 lead entering the fourth.
Young, in classic fashion, started out hot in the fourth quarter, hitting huge 3s. Pierce’s team took a six-point lead.Mitchell and Young traded blows throughout the 4th, as the stars refused to be defeated.
Rebounding hurt the Hawks throughout the game, but especially in the final quarter, as Gobert dominated. Utah won the rebounding battle by 13. The Hawks also had a rough stretch of three minutes where they didn’t record a basket.
“We had a stretch in the fourth quarter, I think from seven to four minutes, where we just came up empty on a couple of offensive possessions and they had a couple of good defensive strips,” Pierce said.
This allowed the Jazz to create the fatal momentum. Mitchell was an unstoppable force on the offensive end, getting anything he wanted with ease. The guard matched Young’s 30 points and helped his side improve to 17-11 on the season.
With so much chatter about team chemistry, Atlanta seemed to play well together and was within a few possessions of a win. While Young did not have his best shooting day, finishing 9-of-28 from the field, he did provide eight assists. Parker put it well.
“We did bounce back, but that’s not satisfying,” he said.
These words bode well for what this team wants to become in the future.
