Hawks 98, Jazz 92
Hawks 98, Jazz 92: Jeff Teague had 26 points, eight assists and three steals as visiting Atlanta held off a late push from Utah.
Paul Millsap added 15 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as the Hawks beat the Jazz for the eighth straight time. Al Horford added 13 points and DeMarre Carroll finished with 10 for Atlanta.
Gordon Hayward scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half for the Jazz. Dante Exum, the fifth overall pick out of Australia last June, scored a season-high 13 points, Enes Kanter and Rudy Gobert added 11 and reserve Trevor Booker finished with 10 points and nine rebounds for Utah.
The Hawks inched ahead by 14 at the end of three quarters and maintained the double-digit advantage until a 9-0 run by the Jazz pulled them within four with 3:38 left. Utah had two chances to cut the deficit to two but Derrick Favors and Hayward both missed mid-range jumpers and the Hawks were able to hold off Utah at the free-throw line.
The Hawks led by as many as 19 late in the first quarter before the Jazz ended the quarter on a 12-3 run and then scored the first seven points of the second quarter to pull within three. Utah trimmed the deficit back to three on four other occasions, but Atlanta scored the final six points of the half to retake a double-digit advantage at 57-45.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Rodney Hood, who had moved into the starting lineup after Alec Burks underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last week, did not play because of a left heel injury, and his replacement in the starting lineup, Patrick Christopher, suffered a dislocated right kneecap in the first quarter and did not return. … The Hawks have won six straight against the Western Conference for the first time since November 2009. … Atlanta’s 14-2 mark in December was the organization’s highest winning percentage over a month ever.