Hawks bounce back, end Western swing with win at Jazz

By Bud L. Ellis

It would be unfair to say the Atlanta Hawks were reeling out of control as they arrived in Salt Lake City Monday night. But after blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to lowly Golden State the night before, a win definitely was needed.

That’s what the Hawks got, leaving Utah with a victory for the first time since 1993. Down six points with under nine minutes to play, Atlanta finished strong in a 105-100 victory.

With the win, the Hawks wrap up their four-game Western Conference road swing at 2-2. The win pulls the Hawks within two games of Orlando in the Southeast Division standings. Sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta moves to within ½ game of Boston for the third seed.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting. Josh Smith added 18 points and led the Hawks with nine rebounds. Jamal Crawford scored 17 points off the bench, hitting four 3-pointers. Al Horford added 13 points and Marvin Williams scored 11.

Atlanta returns home to play Minnesota on Wednesday at Philips Arena.

—30—

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 9:21 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves, National Basketball Association, Utah Jazz