The Utah Jazz (5-5) defeated the Atlanta Hawks (8-4) 97-96 on Sunday.
In a battle of two defensively strong teams, there was some efficient offense and great shooting on Sunday. The two teams combined to shoot 50 percent from the field and the game was close all evening long. The win for Utah cracked a three-game losing streak, while the loss for Atlanta continued a poor stretch in which they have lost three of their last four.
The Jazz got center Rudy Gobert back in this game and that proved to be the difference in a one-point game. Gobert recorded a double-double while contributing two steals and three blocks in the victory. The best player for the Jazz on Sunday was Derrick Favors, who totaled 23 points and nine rebounds. He has been spectacular this season and he very well may make his first All-Star team if he continues to play at this level. Utah also got 18 points and six boards off the bench from Alec Burks, who is playing like a sixth-man of the year candidate at this point of the season. This is a young, scary team that thrives off defense and that's a good recipe for a winning team. Utah has a few days off until they play the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday in their next matchup.
The Hawks played this game without point guard Jeff Teague (ankle) and that proved to be a huge factor. Dennis Schroeder filled in for Teague and put in 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the loss. It's not so much that they missed Teague's production as much as it was that they missed him facilitating the offense and Schroeder's spark off the bench. Paul Millsap continued his fantastic season, as he collected 28 points and six redounds in the defeat. Millsap is playing at an all-time high level right now and he's truly one of the most underrated players in the league right now. The bench really killed Atlanta in this game though, as they totaled just 14 points between five players. Atlanta will play the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday in their next game.
