Schroder’s 20 leads Hawks to beat Jazz
ATLANTA HAWKS: Hawks 104, Jazz 90
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks are starting to see some results from their improved play.
Dennis Schroder scored 20 points, Taurean Prince broke out of a slump with 17 and Kent Bazemore did a stellar job defensively, leading the Hawks past the Utah Jazz 104-90 on Monday night.
Still saddled with one of the league’s worst record, Atlanta (14-32) has won three of its last four, four of six and is .500 over its past 14 games.
“We’ve got to keep it going,” said Prince, who matched his scoring output from the last four games combined.
The Hawks began to pull away late in the third quarter, closing with a 13-3 run for a 74-63 lead that was their largest to that point. Dewayne Dedmon knocked down a 3-pointer, Malcolm Delaney converted a four-point play and Schroder scored off a couple of drives.
It got totally out of hand at the start of the fourth.
The Jazz missed their first five shots, and the Hawks put the game out of reach with a 10-0 spurt that included a three-point play from rookie John Collins and Bazemore’s jumper beyond the arc.
Atlanta led by as many as 26 in the final period.
Bazemore and Marco Belinelli had 11 points apiece for Atlanta, which knocked down 12 of 26 from 3-point range. The Jazz made only 4 of 15 outside the stripe.
“There were times it looked like we didn’t want to play. Including me,” said Donavan Mitchell, who was held to 13 points by Bazemore.
Battling a hand injury, Prince had hit 7 of 24 shots for 17 points over the last four games. He made 6 of
11 — including a couple of 3s — against the Jazz.
“It’s OK to get tired of yourself sometimes,” Prince said. “You’ve just to work through it. I’ve got to continue to take my shots and continue to play defense.”
Alec Burks came off the bench to lead the Jazz with 17 points. Utah’s starters combined for just 40 points.
Mitchell, averaging 19.3 points a game, was limited to 5-of-13 shooting
“He’s a good player,” Bazemore said. “I just tried to match his energy.”