The Atlanta Hawks snapped their three-game losing streak, coming away with their first win in
their ongoing west coast road trip, defeating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night by a score of
124-121.
The Hawks led by as much as 16 nearly halfway through the second quarter, but the Jazz found
their way back in the game thanks to a strong shooting performance and outstanding efforts by
Lauri Markannen and Walker Kessler. Kessler, who leads the NBA in offensive rebounds,
averaging 4.2 per game, added eight more to his total last night, taking advantage of a Hawks
team missing Jalen Johnson (shoulder injury) and Larry Nance Jr. (hand injury). He finished with
10 rebounds and 21 points, giving the Jazz a chance to win down the stretch, largely thanks to
his efforts on the boards.
The two teams exchanged leads in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks held a 121-118 lead with
nearly nine seconds remaining, thanks to a three-point shot by DeAndre Hunter and two
successful free throw attempts by Trae Young. Utah had the ball and needed a successful
three-point shot to tie the game. Dyson Daniels tipped the inbound pass attempt, but Atlanta
native Collin Sexton retained possession and tied the game, converting a contested shot over
Garrison Matthews.
With 2.9 seconds remaining and Atlanta out of timeouts, the game appeared destined for
overtime. However, Young successfully converted a half-court buzzer-beater as time expired,
giving the Hawks a thrilling victory. While adding yet another game-winning shot to his resume,
Young also made history, as the shot was the seventh-longest game-winning buzzer-beater in
NBA history. The shot was a cherry on top of another all-star performance by Young, who
finished the night with 24 points and 20 assists.
The Hawks’ west coast road trip ends Thursday night as they travel to Phoenix to take on the
Suns.