Fourth quarter defense, Korver’s big shot get Hawks 3rd straight win

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Atlanta Hawks had a difficult time slowing down the offense of the Utah Jazz through the first three quarters of Wednesday’s game. But the final quarter made all the difference for the hosts.

Atlanta held Utah scoreless over the final four and a half minutes and Kyle Korver knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer with just under one minute to play in a 100-97 victory at Philips Arena.

The Jazz, who lost for the seventh consecutive time in the series and fourth straight at Philips, took a 97-89 lead on Alec Burks’ long 2-point jumper at the 4:34 mark. Utah’s offense disappeared down the stretch as the visitors missed their last six shots, including Trey Burke’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that hit only the backboard. Utah (3-6) scored just nine points in the fourth.

Paul Milsap was outstanding all night for the Hawks, finishing with 30 points and 17 rebounds and he was involved in three consecutive baskets to bring Atlanta (4-3) to within 97-95. The 6-8 forward had a tip-in to make it a 97-91 game, his steal led to a lay up for Thabo Sefolosha and Milsap’s short jumper in the lane at the 2:20 mark cut the deficit to just two points.

Gordon Hayward missed a jumper at the other end, then with 6-10 Derrick Favors guarding him closely, Korver stepped back and drained a 3-pointer with 58 seconds to play that was enough for the hosts to hang on.

“Any time Kyle shoots it’s OK in my mind,” said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. “It was obviously a huge shot to make, but that’s the kind of special player he is. We found a way to win.”

“Really, it was the defense in the fourth quarter, holding them to nine points that won us the game,” said Korver, who finished with 17 points.

Before the disastrous fourth, the Jazz shot the ball extremely well. Burks knocked down a 20-foot jumper with 34 seconds left in the third and the visitors headed to the fourth having made 57 percent of their shots and with an 88-82 lead.

Utah made just four field goals over the final 12 1/2 minutes, though a quick, 7-0 run got them that 97-89 lead.

“We felt we played zero defense until the fourth quarter,” said Korver. “(In the fourth) we made shots and we finally got some stops.”

Utah led by as much as 50-37 after an Ian Clark bucket at the 5:33 mark of the second quarter. The Jazz still led 52-43 on Trey Burke’s nice hesitation and drive for a lay up with about four minutes to go, but that’s where Milsap and Jeff Teague took over.

Milsap had eight straight Hawks’ points, including a pair of 3-pointers and a booming dunk off a feed from Teague that pulled Atlanta to within 52-51 at the 1:37 mark. While Utah went the final four minutes of the half without a field goal, Teague put on a show. The guard, who had 10 of his 14 first-half points over the final 5:20, assisted on Sefolosha’s lay up that capped a 12-0 run and handed the Hawks a 53-52 lead with 1:09 to go.

Teague added a steal and lay up and a pair of baseline drives that led to thunderous dunks, which helped put the Hawks up 57-54 at halftime.

Atlanta had gone the first five minutes of the second quarter without a field goal, finally getting one when Pero Antic knocked down a three at the seven-minute mark. That cut the deficit to 44-37, but Utah scored the next six points to take its largest lead of the half.

The first quarter was all about red-hot shooting as Favors had eight early points and Utah made 11 of its first 14 attempts to lead 25-20 at the 3:46 mark. Each team made 14 of 22 shots in the opening quarter and Atlanta pulled even at 32-32 after one on a Dennis Schroder foul line jumper in the final seconds.

Hayward came in as Utah’s leading scorer but was held to 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting. His teammates were much better, including big nights from Burks (9-of-15 shooting, 22 points), Enes Kanter (7-of-11, 16) and Favors (9-of-11, 20), playing just minutes from where he suited up for his collegiate ball at Georgia Tech. Burke struggled from the field (5-of-15), but handed out 11 assists.

“I think you have to give Utah credit, they executed well, they made shots. Looking at our defense in the fourth quarter, holding them to nine points, gave us a chance to win a game. I’m very pleased with that effort,” said Budenholzer.

Teague had eight assists of his own to go along with 20 points and Korver added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks, who won their third consecutive game.

Story at rockdalecitizen.com