Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 32 points and Jalen Johnson added a career-best 31 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-122 win over the Utah Jazz for their sixth road victory of the season.
Johnson also tallied career highs in rebounds (18), assists (14) and steals (7) against the Jazz. Okongwu added 11 rebounds. Vit Krejci made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points off the bench. The Hawks made 24 3-pointers and shot 51.1% from 3-point range.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 40 points. Ace Bailey added a career-high 21 points and Keyonte George chipped in 19 for the Jazz.
Utah used an 11-0 run to cut a 12-point deficit to one early in the third quarter. George scored three baskets to fuel the run. The Jazz finally took a 97-94 lead on back-to-back baskets from Kevin Love and Isaiah Collier.
Okongwu made three 3-pointers over four possessions to put Atlanta back in front for good at 119-112.
Markkanen scored nine of Utah’s first 13 points and gave the Jazz a 13-12 lead on a layup. He totaled 15 points in the first quarter alone.
Atlanta quickly clamped down defensively and made nine straight shots late in the first quarter to take a 39-26 lead. Johnson fueled the surge by making three baskets and assisting three others. The Hawks scored 11 unanswered points, at one point, to sprint ahead of Utah.
Krejci hit three 3-pointers to put Atlanta up 53-35 early in the second quarter. He tallied five outside baskets in the quarter. As a team, the Hawks went 15-of-25 from 3-point range before halftime and tied a franchise record for 3-pointers made in a single half.
The Jazz chipped away at the deficit with runs of 10-0 and 10-2. Back-to-back dunks from Markkanen highlighted the second run that cut the Hawks’ lead to 65-61. That’s as close as Utah got before Atlanta pulled away again.
Johnson scored or assisted five baskets over a two-minute stretch to help the Hawks extend their lead to 78-64.
–Field Level Media
