The Roundup—Jazz 92, Hawks 98

Down by 19 points in the first quarter, and then (after cutting the lead to three) down again by 20 in the third quarter, the Jazz fought back to pull within four down the stretch before the Hawks escaped with a 98-92 victory at EnergySolutions Arena Friday night.

Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 18 points and was key down the stretch, hitting a 3-pointer and then a running layup in consecutive possessions to close the gap to four points late in the game.

Enes Kanter added 11 points, while Derrick Favors scored eight points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. The trio of Trevor Booker, Danté Exum and Rudy Gobert combined for 34 points off the bench.

Trey Burke really, really struggled in the loss, going 2-for-19 from the field, including 0-for-11 from 3-point range. Burke finished with eight points, five assists and two steals.

Jeff Teague scored a game-high 26 for the Hawks. Former Jazzman Paul Millsap added 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Al Horford scored 13 points.

17-2 ... that was the run Atlanta went on after Utah scored the game’s first four points. The Jazz made a game out of it, but had to play from behind the entire time and ran out of gas at the end.

On a night when the starters (minus Hayward) struggled, Utah’s bench provided the energy and playmaking that kept the Jazz in the game. Utah went on two runs (19-3 in the first/second quarters, and 10-2 in the third/fourth quarters) when at least three reserves were on the court.

Booker (as usual) injected energy into the crowd and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds; Gobert had 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks; Exum finished with a career-high 13 points; and Joe Ingles pumped up the crowd with two big 3-pointers.

Exum was more aggressive tonight, going 5-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range. He was also active on defense (with three steals) and on the boards (with two key offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter). With Alec Burks out for the season, the Jazz are going to need more nights like this out of Exum.

The Jazz went on a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to cut Atlanta’s lead to 91-87 with 3:38 remaining. After an Atlanta timeout, though, DeMarre Carroll sunk a desperation jumper as the shot clock ran out and—after Favors missed two free throws—Teague hit a runner in the lane to give Atlanta just enough cushion to hold on.

Outside of Burke (who, once again, went 0-for-11 from downtown) the Jazz were quite good from long range. The not-Trey-Burke Jazz players went 10-for-21 from deep, and Hayward, Exum, Ingles and Booker each hit multiple threes.

With the Jazz in the middle of a furious fourth-quarter comeback, Horford drove down the lane for a layup attempt that was spiked back down onto the court by Gobert. Hayward finished off Utah’s ensuing fast break with a layup. As a team, the Jazz finished with nine blocks.

With Burks (shoulder) out for the season and Rodney Hood (foot) also injured, Patrick Christopher drew his first-ever NBA start. Christopher, though, went down with a dislocated right kneecap midway through the first quarter. ... Antoine Walker is the only other player in NBA history to shoot as many as 11 threes in one game without making one. He did it on Dec. 17, 2001 as a member of the Boston Celtics. ... Kanter sprained his ankle in the fourth quarter and will miss tomorrow’s game against Minnesota.

The Jazz will hit the road for a quick trip to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. MT and the game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS.