Atlanta Snaps Three-Game Losing Streak With Big Offensive Performance vs Utah

Atlanta, GA- After a lifeless performance vs the New York Knicks on Saturday afternoon, the Hawks got a win vs the Utah Jazz on Wednesday to win their 37th game of the season, surpassing last year's win total. The offense for both teams was fantastic tonight, but Atlanta's was just a little bit better.

Just one week after setting their season high in points scored (145 vs Milwaukee), the Hawks' offense shot 57% from the field and hit 22 three-pointers in a 13-point win over the team with the worst record in the NBA. Atlanta had 43 assists on 54 made baskets, marking the most assists in a non-overtime game for the Hawks since 1993. It was the best offensive performance for the Hawks this season, and they needed it considering how poor their defense played tonight.

Of the Hawks' nine-man rotation tonight, only two players did not score in double-figures. Onyeka Okongwu led the way with 27 points and 12 rebounds, but it was hard to find a real flaw with the Hawks' offense tonight. The bench for the Hawks scored 56 points tonight, and overall, Atlanta kept their turnovers down, committing only 11 tonight. The Hawks finished tonight with a 140.3 offensive rating tonight and a 71% true shooting percentage.

Quin Snyder made one lineup tweak tonight, starting Georges Niang instead of Mouhamed Gueye, while Gueye replaced Dom Barlow as the backup center for this game. Gueye is not normally used as a center, but played around 10 minutes there tonight. Could that be the new normal going forward for the Hawks?

The concerning thing for tonight was the defense. Utah was almost able to match Atlanta tonight in terms of scoring and that is not something that you want to see going into the postseason. Utah shot 53% from the field and 43% from three tonight. The Jazz got two big games from Keyonte George (35 points, 7-12 shooting) and Collin Sexton (27 points). The Hawks' defense has been struggling as of late and tonight was not a good night.

This win moves the Hawks to 37-41 and they have four games to go, including two big games vs the Magic. Atlanta faces Orlando on the road this Tuesday in a game that has big ramifications for the Eastern Conference play-in race.

There was a slight change for the Hawks in the starting lineup tonight. Georges Niang replaced Mouhamed Gueye and started alongside Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu.

Atlanta's offense was clicking to start this game. The three-point shot has not been falling for the Hawks during this losing streak, but it was working on early in the game vs Utah. Atlanta was 6-12 in the opening quarter and that was a sign of things to come in the first half. Onyeka Okongwu was dominating the first quarter (10 points and five rebounds), and Caris LeVert came off the bench to score nine. Atlanta had a 13-point lead after the first, and it was only going to get bigger from there.

Trae steal ➡️ Zacch slam pic.twitter.com/Emu32c1XgB
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 6, 2025

Utah did have an 11-6 run to start the second quarter, but then Vit Krejci settled things down. Krejci went nuclear in the second quarter and out of the timeout, hit three straight threes to have his own 9-0 run and put the Hawks up 14. The first quarter three-point shooting was good, but the second quarter was even better. The Hawks were 9-16 in the quarter from three, with four of them coming from Krejci. The Jazz were getting big halves from Keyonte George (22 points, 5-7 from three) off the bench and Collin Sexton (14 points), but it did not matter because they could not stop the Hawks' offense. Atlanta led 81-64 at the break.

3 Threes in a minute and 15 seconds 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/F7oGLSC5fP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 6, 2025

In the first half, Atlanta shot 59% from the field and 55% (15-28) from three. The 15 threes in the first half tied a franchise record that was set in 2021. The Hawks had 22 assists on 31 made shots in the first half. Five players were in double-figures, with Okongwu and Young each having 15. After having problems with turnovers in the previous three games, Atlanta only had three in the first half.

Utah shot 54% from the field and 39% from three in the first half. George and Sexton combined for 36 points.

The Jazz were not going quietly though. They began the third quarter on an 8-2 run that cut the lead to 11 and Quin Snyder needed a timeout. Whatever he said in the huddle worked because the Hawks went on a 7-2 run to get the lead back up to 16.

G Wagon getting in on the longball action 🎯🎯 pic.twitter.com/yPdBswM0SM
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 6, 2025

As great as the Hawks offense was performing, their defense was falling well-short of where it needed to be, especially against a depleted Utah team. The Jazz scored 43 points in the third quarter and shot 61% from the field (6-10) from three. Atlanta was still in control and led by 12 after the third, but Utah had a chance.

TRAE DUNK

(just go with it) pic.twitter.com/0cMtiQ79Sy
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 7, 2025

The Jazz deserve a lot of credit for being able to hang with the Hawks in the fourth quarter, but they could not manufacture enough stops and the Hawks held on for a 13 point win.

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