The most juiced the Jazz have been on offense all season, but the Hawks were on steroids. Jazz crumble at home 122-132, falling susceptible to turnovers and giving up open threes to the Hawks’ hot-shooters. Johnson and Okongwu were a juggernaut that couldn’t be stopped. They gave up 24 ATL triples and committed 23 turnovers. Lauri Markkanen with his second 40+ point performance this season. It was a story of depth: it was without certainty, the Jazz played their asses off, but the Hawks swam out the kiddie
pool off the hands of career nights off multiple guys.
It was a crisp first quarter for Atlanta. The ball was zipping, and the shot was falling. Both Jalen Johnson and Luke Kennard contributed three triples each on perfect efficiency. The Hawks as a team were shooting 9-12 (75%) from deep. But the Jazz started to find their offensive momentum, just like how they nibbled their way back from the Pacers’ 10-point lead in the first on Tuesday night. Lauri Markkanen persevered, ending the quarter on 15 points to trim the Hawks’ deficit to 9.
The second quarter started much of the same. It was the Czech Vit Krejčí who caught fire, making five triples without a miss, adding to Atlanta’s lead. Ace, Brice and Filipowski respond with their own triples to bring the game back to 9 once more. The most insane heat checks I’ve ever witnessed, each team going shot for shot, and no one was backing down. Lauri Markkanen was torching the Hawks in the paint by bullying his way inside. Even the All-Defensive First Team member Dyson Daniels couldn’t stop him — Markkanen had 22 points while Dyson had 3 fouls.There were 24 combined made threes by the time the half had concluded.
The boys in purple came all the way back to claim the lead in the third. Hawks couldn’t get layups to fall, and their intensity on the glass dwindled. Jazz closed off the Hawks’ three-point shooting and were running the floor in transition. A noticeable performance from Isaiah Collier. His combination of strength and speed was bullying the Hawks down-low. It was another impressive night for the 5th pick, Ace Bailey. He’s becoming more comfortable in his skin, notching another 20-point performance and notching another career-high. It’s no surprise he’s been playing a fantastic brand of basketball in his 3 games as a starter. He’s driving to the lane, shooting the smart shots and kicking to open guys.
Unfortunately, it was just that type of night for Atlanta. Once the Hawks figured out how to contain Markkanen, there wasn’t another option on the floor they could depend on. Even the free-throws weren’t falling. The Jazz offense completely came to a halt over the last six minutes. Jalen Johnson finished with an insane 31-18-14 statline, and almost had the quadruple double with 7 steals. Okongwu had been everywhere on the floor, finishing with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 5 stocks to go along with 8 triples. The depth of Atlanta is going to overwhelm almost any team in the league. They’re incredible when they put the ball in that net.
Lauri Markkanen finished with 40 points, 7 rebounds, on 6-12 triples in a 10-point loss. He now has the 2nd most games in Jazz history with 40+ points and 5+ triples made. Last season was a step back with the rested games and roster construction, but now he’s on pace to reform back into the star-level player he once was.
Let’s talk about Ace Bailey. As a starter through 3 games, he’s recording averages of 17 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.7 steals on 67% true shooting. He’s playing incredibly impactful basketball, surpassing his career-high in points for five straight games. He looks like a coachable player out there despite what the scouting reports said. It was a rough stretch for Jazz fans watching Edgecombe and Knueppel shine while Ace dealt with illness and injury, but the wait is paying off. Little by little.
Jazz round up their home-stand as the Chicago Bulls come into town on November 16th at 6:00 PM MT.
