Hawks 102, Jazz 91
SALT LAKE CITY -- Al Horford scored 34 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 102-91 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
Josh Smith contributed 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Hawks (33-23) won their fourth consecutive contest. It was also Atlanta's third victory in a row on their current six-game swing.
Jeff Teague scored 19 points and seven assists and former Jazz guard Devin Harris had 12 points for the Hawks, who led by as many as 20 points en route to their second win over Utah this season.
Al Jefferson 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who dropped to 31-27 with their third loss in a row. It was the second straight home defeat for Utah, which fell to 21-8 in the Beehive State.
Derrick Favors had 17 points and 15 rebounds in a rare start for the Jazz. Favors started at the power forward position in place of the injured Paul Millsap, who missed the game with a sprained left ankle.
The absence was Millsap's first of the season and only the 14th injury-related miss in his seven seasons.
The Hawks controlled this game for most of the night, jumping ahead by eight points in the first quarter. Atlanta took a 56-48 lead into halftime.
Atlanta blew the game open in the third quarter, scoring the first six points of the second half. Former Hawk Marvin Williams finally got Utah on the scoreboard with a layup at the 7:36 mark of the period.
The Hawks took their largest lead at 80-60 on a bucket by big man Zaza Pachulia with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter.
DeMarre Carroll, who returned after tweaking his left knee, sparked a Jazz run with eight points in a 10-2 spurt as Utah trimmed Atlanta's lead to 90-82 with 5:32 remaining.
But Horford then did some serious work, blocking Jefferson's shot and then dunking on the other end.
Horford then made two more buckets in a row to help the Hawks maintain their double-digit lead.
Jazz guard Randy Foye scored 11 points and hit two 3-pointers, which tied him for Utah's single-season franchise record of 129 3s, which Mehmet Okur set in 2006-07.
NOTES: Atlanta shooting guard Kyle Korver fell in love with Utah - the team and the state -- during his two-and-half seasons with the Jazz from 2007-10. "I loved waking up and seeing the mountains every day," he said. "It's just a good lifestyle here in Utah." ... Korver even admitted he wouldn't mind playing in a Jazz uniform again. He'll become a free agent this offseason. "I would definitely listen to Utah if they came asking," Korver said. "I have a lot of respect for the organization and the Miller family, and it was just a great place to live life and play basketball." ... Small forward Marvin Williams exited the Jazz's Wednesday morning shootaround wearing a torn-apart T-shirt. The culprit? Atlanta big man Pachulia. "When I was in Atlanta, man, we went through a little stage when we were tearing guys' shirts off when they weren't looking," said Williams, who played the past seven seasons with the Hawks. "I was out there talking to Josh (Smith) and Zaza came and got me." ... Pachulia's response? "I'm a very close friend. I love Marvin and I miss him, so I got green light to make those kind of jokes."