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 on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Johnson also tallied career highs in rebounds (18), assists (14) and steals (seven) in his third career triple-double. Okongwu added 11 rebounds. Atlanta’s Vit Krejci made six 3-pointers and scored 20 points off the bench. The Hawks sank 24 3-pointers and shot 51.1% from long range.
Atlanta posted its Eastern Conference-leading sixth road victory of the season, in eight attempts.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 40 points. Rookie 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
