Jazz squeak past Hawks in Snyder's return to Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George scored 25 points and Collin Sexton added 21 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 124-122 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
George and Sexton combined for 11 assists to help the Jazz snap a three-game losing streak. John Collins had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Johnny Juzang made five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 19 points off the bench.
Utah finished with 56 points in the paint and 24 fast-break points.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. De’Andre Hunter chipped in 27 points, Jalen Johnson added 26 and Clint Capela had 15 rebounds to go with 10 points.
Atlanta lost its third straight game in Quin Snyder’s return to Salt Lake City despite shooting 20 for 39 from 3-point range. Snyder coached at Utah for eight seasons from 2014-22.
Atlanta trailed much of the second half but cut the deficit to a basket after Johnson drilled a 3-pointer with 8:15 left. Sexton and Juzang countered with three unanswered baskets to push Utah’s lead to 116-106 a minute later.
The Hawks rallied one more time. Murray knocked down back-to-back 3s to trim Utah’s lead to 124-122 with 1:18 remaining. He had two cracks at a go-ahead basket in the final minute but missed both.
Vit Krejci missed another potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds following a Jazz turnover.
Collins had four baskets and five rebounds during the first quarter, and the Jazz extended their lead to 39-28 on back-to-back baskets from Walker Kessler and Talen Horton-Tucker in the opening minute of the second. Atlanta erased the deficit and scored on six straight possessions to take a 62-59 lead just before halftime. Capela fueled the run with a pair of dunks.
Utah quickly regained the lead after halftime and led much of the third quarter after shooting 65% from the field. George and Brice Sensabaugh combined for 20 points in the third quarter to pace a 37-point quarter for the Jazz.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Jazz: Host Minnesota on Saturday.
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