Atlanta Hawks 100, Utah Jazz 93

billylea — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:41:17 +0000

Jerry Sloan and the bunch rolled into Atlanta looking for win number 13 in a row, they left the court with loss number one in a row.

Horrendous start by the Jazz. This is what usually leads to Utah road losses; they find themselves down 14-4 halfway through the first quarter as they did on Tuesday night and spend too much energy fighting back. Lately, Memo Okur has been the first quarter offense for the Jazz but he was hit with 2 early fouls against the Hawks and forced to the bench just a few minutes in. Although the Jazz did fight back to take the lead with a huge third quarter, it was no doubt their slow start in the first quarter that cost them their 13th straight victory.
The third quarter has one of the best of the season for the Jazz and allowed them a chance down the stretch. Utah outscored Atlanta 33-18 in the quarter and hit 11 of their final 13 shots of the quarter.
What is up with Atlanta’s fan base? The Braves have always filled their stadium or am I wrong? The Hawks are different though, they consistently have some of the lowest attendance in the league, even when the Hawks are having a good season as they currently are. Atlanta is XX-7 this season at home; imagine if their fans actually gave them a real home-court advantage. Last night’s announced attendance: 13,112 (the Jazz are not necessarily a top draw but they did come in with a 12 game win streak).
I am still wondering about the Josh Smith play in the third quarter where he was fouled and his dunk (no doubt after the shot clock expired) was counted as continuation. Can anyone verify the correct rule on this? It does not seem logical to me that the shot should have counted. What if it was the same scenario with the game clock rather than the shot clock? If the foul happens before the clock expires, does the foul take the clock out of play for continuation? To me, this was the turning point of the game as the Jazz were on a roll at the time and up 5. It appeared to be Jazz ball after a shot clock violation (the foul was not obvious and appeared after the shot clock as well); instead, Smith converted the three point play to pull the Hawks within 2. A few seconds later Joe Johnson made a blind-side steal from a careless Carlos Boozer and all of the sudden it was a tie game.
Got to mention the play Deron made, I believe in the third quarter. On a fast break, Deron somehow got through an uncalled foul at half-court then made a spectacular behind the back dribble to himself before dishing it to Millsap for a layup. I watched this play about ten times on my Tivo. In slow motion it looks like a very simple move… at full speed it is something that only a handful of players on Earth can do.
It could have been a worse night for Utah but the Rockets and Blazers were both knocked off at home. The Jazz did lose ground to the Nuggets, Hornets, Lakers and Mavericks.
Can the Jazz recover and find victories in Florida? The team was riding an emotional high during their win streak so it will be interesting to see their body language, confidence and energy as they take on the Heat. Miami tends to give the Jazz issues and D-Wade is having a fantastic season. If Wade is able to score more than 25 or 30 points as Joe Johnson did, it will be very hard for the Jazz to win.

JAZZSPIN » atlanta hawks

Atlanta Hawks 100, Utah Jazz 93