Video: Pierce Talks Loss To Jazz

The Hawks brought a drastically different spirit and energy to Thursday night's game against Utah than they did Tuesday in New York. Two days after being blown out by one of the worst teams in the league, Atlanta responded with a sustained, highly competitive effort against one of the better teams in the Western Conference.

"If we can bottle up that type of energy, we're off to the right start," Lloyd Pierce said. "I thought our guys took the gameplan and played with a lot of energy tonight, and competed from start to finish."

Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young led the Jazz and Hawks, respectively, with 30 points each, while Jabari Parker chipped in 23 and five rebounds off the bench for Atlanta. Rudy Gobert dominated the game inside with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks.

Atlanta outscored the Jazz in both and second quarters and led the game entering each of the final frames. But a 28-22 push in the fourth gave Utah just enough separation as the Hawks sputtered to 8-of-23 shooting over the final 12 minutes. The Jazz defense stood tall when it mattered, and Mitchell took over late, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter alone.

Trae Young dueled his Utah counterpart with 12 points in the quarter, but required 13 shots to do so, and those extra possessions added up for a Hawks team without much offensive support late in the game.

Perhaps the most notable development from Thursday's contest was the change in Atlanta's starting lineup. Pierce inserted rookies Cam Reddish and Bruno Fernando in place of Jabari Parker and Damian Jones, giving Atlanta a super-small and extraordinarily young starting five. DeAndre' Bembry and Evan Turner, who had mostly been out of the rotation lately, played 20 and eight minutes, respectively. Jones and Vince Carter did not see the court.

The Hawks are now 6-23 on the season, and have lost their last six games. They'll travel to Brooklyn on Saturday to take on the Nets at 6 p.m. in attempt to snap the losing streak.