NBA: The Jazz pull away late to clip the Hawks on the road
Atlanta, Georgia - The Utah Jazz put together a late-game push to escape with a big road win over the Hawks in Atlanta.
The Jazz ended Thursday night with a 116-98 win over the Hawks on Thursday, handing Atlanta their second-straight loss.
Utah got their third win in a row as they also improve their regular season record to an NBA-best 7-1.
On a night when one of their best players had to sit out with an injury, Utah’s bench answered the call to help lead the team to victory.
Both teams kept close to one another throughout the course of the contest, with neither squad enjoying no bigger than a single-digit lead.
That was, until the fourth quarter, when the Hawks began to crash under the Jazz’s big 41-point effort to run away with the win.
There was a bit of luck involved too, as Utah committed 17 turnovers in the game but were bailed out by great long-distance shooting, hitting 17 of their 41 three-point attempts.
The player spotlight
Coming off of the bench for the Jazz was guard Jordan Clarkson (29), who had his biggest game yet of the season.
Clarkson really stepped up to replace the injured Donovan Mitchell and he outscored not just Utah’s starting five, but even Atlanta’s scoring machine Trae Young.
Last year’s Sixth Man of the Year completely flipped the script after scoring only two points in his previous game Tuesday night.
Clarkson ended the night making 10 of his 19 shot attempts, including 4 of 10 from behind the arc, for 30 points, along with four rebounds and three assists.
The big picture
Just three weeks into the season, the Jazz have the league’s best record.
They’re looking well on their way to earning the top spot once again, especially now that they’ve shown their bench can step up in a pinch.
Utah can definitely continue setting themselves ahead of the competition, as only six of their remaining 13 games this month are against teams that made the playoffs last season.
On Saturday, the Jazz are in Miami to face the Heat, while the Hawks head west to take on the Suns.
Cover photo: imago/Icon SMI