Jazz rout visiting Hawks 95-68
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored 24 points and George Hill added 23 to help the Utah Jazz cruise to a commanding 95-68 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Rudy Gobert added 10 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots for Utah, while Trey Lyles chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. The Jazz (9-8) earned their first home victory over the Hawks since the 2008-09 season.
Dennis Schroder scored 16 points to lead Atlanta while Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha chipped in 11 apiece. The Hawks (10-6) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Utah got it done on the defensive end. The Jazz finished with a 55-40 advantage on the glass and held Atlanta to just 31.3 percent shooting (26-of-83) from the field.
Hayward kept Utah going early with his superb first half shooting. He made his first six baskets and shot 85.7 percent from the field (6-of-7) before halftime. It helped the Jazz weather a typically stout defensive effort from the Hawks.
The Jazz jumped out to a 11-4 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Hill. Schroder drove for a layup, then promptly stole an inbound pass from Trey Lyles and fed Kyle Korver for a go-ahead 3-pointer to cut the Jazz lead to 15-14.
Atlanta twice took a one-point lead before the end of the quarter, the second time on a pair of free throws from Sefolosha. Hayward answered with a dribble drive dunk to close the first quarter and buried a jumper to open the second quarter, putting Utah back in front at 26-23.
The Hawks briefly went back ahead in the second quarter when Taurean Prince buried a 3-pointer to make it 29-28. Utah answered with an 8-0 run, culminating in layups from Shelvin Mack and Boris Diaw off back-to-back Atlanta turnovers, to reclaim a 36-29 lead.
Utah eventually built up a 16-point advantage in the quarter, going up 48-32 behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Hill and Joe Ingles. Atlanta shot just 19.0 percent from the field (4-of-21) in the quarter. The Hawks scored just 11 second-quarter points -- the fewest by any Jazz opponent this season.
Defense also ruled the day for Utah in the third quarter. The Jazz held Atlanta to just 14 points in the quarter -- another season low for a Utah opponent -- to offset their own shooting struggles. Utah shot just 23.8 percent from the field (5-of-21) in the quarter.
The Hawks cut the deficit to 57-48 on a jumper from Millsap late in the third quarter. That’s as close as Atlanta could get in its comeback efforts. Lyles and Joe Johnson scored back-to-back baskets to restore a double-digit lead before the quarter’s end.
Utah blew the game wide open with a 23-4 run in the fourth quarter. The Jazz scored on eight of 10 possessions during that stretch, culminating in four straight baskets from Hayward and Hill, and took an 87-56 lead with 5:18 remaining.
NOTES: Atlanta dished out at least 20 assists in 12 games this season. The Hawks ranked third among NBA teams in assists before Friday’s games, averaging 24.6 assists. ... G George Hill leads all NBA point guards in field goal percentage (.550) entering Friday’s game. Additionally, C Rudy Gobert leads the league in field goal percentage (.634). ... C Dwight Howard is the active NBA leader with 624 career double-doubles. Howard is fourth in the league this season with 11 total double-doubles. ... G Rodney Hood scored in double figures in 12 straight games entering Friday -- the longest stretch of his NBA career.