Donovan Mitchell guides Jazz to blowout of Hawks

[January 16, 2021]  Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points as the Utah Jazz returned from a long Eastern road trip to beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 116-92 on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Mitchell connected on 10 of 20 field-goal attempts, including 6 of 10 from 3-point range, and played just 27 minutes while boosting Utah to a fourth straight victory. The first three wins in the streak came as part of the Jazz's 4-2 trip.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points, Jordan Clarkson fired in 16 off the bench and Rudy Gobert contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as Utah improved to 2-2 at home this season.

Cam Reddish led Atlanta with 20 points, but Hawks star Trae Young managed only four points on 1 of 10 shooting. Atlanta lost for the fifth time in six outings.

Both teams had games postponed on Wednesday -- Utah at Washington and Atlanta at Phoenix -- because of the NBA's COVID-19 contact-tracing protocol.

The Jazz seized a 10-2 lead thanks to eight quick points by Mike Conley, who finished with 15 points and eight assists. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mitchell and Bogdanovic followed by a Gobert dunk pushed the lead to 18-4.

Atlanta fired back with a 9-0 run to pull within 19-15, taking advantage of nine straight misses by Utah.

Derrick Favors ended that drought with a dunk, and the Jazz led 33-23 after the first quarter.

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) defends as Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) protects the ball from his knees during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Utah took a 61-46 lead into the halftime behind 20 points from Mitchell.

After being outscored 16-6 going into break, the Hawks burst out of the locker room with an 11-0 run to get within four points.

Utah rebuilt its 16-point lead in the third quarter only to see Atlanta respond with an eight-point streak. The Jazz took a timeout after which Clarkson nailed a trey and Conley scored inside for an 87-74 lead after three quarters.

Utah surged to a 103-74 advantage by opening the fourth on a 16-0 run, increasing the run to 21 consecutive point overall.

Atlanta forward Onyeka Okongwu, the sixth pick of the 2020 draft, made his NBA debut after missing the opening 10 games of the season due to a toe injury. He finished with four points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.

--Field Level Media

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.