Hawks coach Quin Snyder returned to Salt Lake City, where he led the Jazz for eight seasons, but Atlanta lost to Utah 124-122 Friday night.
Former Hawks standout John Collins scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds for the Jazz.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. De’Andre Hunter chipped in 27 points, Jalen Johnson added 26 and Clint Capela had 15 rebounds to go with 10 points. The Hawks lost their third straight game despite shooting 20 for 39 from 3-point range.
Snyder coached for Utah from 2014-22.
Keyonte George scored 25 points and Collin Sexton added 21 for the Jazz. George and Sexton combined for 11 assists to help Utah snap a three-game losing streak. Johnny Juzang made five 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 19 points off the bench.
The Jazz finished with 56 points in the paint and 24 fast-break points.
The Hawks trailed much of the second half but cut the deficit to a basket after Johnson drilled a 3-pointer with 8:15 left. Sexton and Juzang countered with three unanswered baskets to push Utah’s lead to 116-106 a minute later.
The Hawks rallied one more time. Murray knocked down back-to-back 3s to trim Utah’s lead to 124-122 with 1:18 remaining. He had two cracks at a go-ahead basket in the final minute but missed both.
The Hawks’ Vit Krejci missed another potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds following a Jazz turnover.
Collins had four baskets and five rebounds during the first quarter, and the Jazz extended their lead to 39-28 on back-to-back baskets from Walker Kessler and Talen Horton-Tucker in the opening minute of the second. The Hawks erased the deficit and scored on six straight possessions to take a 62-59 lead just before halftime. Capela fueled the run with a pair of dunks.
Utah quickly regained the lead after halftime and led much of the third quarter after shooting 65% from the field. George and Brice Sensabaugh combined for 20 points in the third quarter to pace a 37-point quarter for the Jazz.
Stat to know
39-48 - Quin Snyder’s regular-season record as Hawks coach in two seasons. He’s also 2-4 in the playoffs.
Up next
The Hawks visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
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