Jazz roar back to down Hawks

"You’re sitting on pins and needles in this business because everybody thinks this is fun," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "It’s fun to win but everything’s tied up pretty tight. You try to see what you come away with."

Derek Fisher scored 18 points for the Jazz, who have split their last four games. Deron Williams notched 13 points and nine assists, while Carlos Boozer also had 13 points. Andrei Kirilenko netted 12 points and Matt Harpring added 11 off the bench.

Joe Johnson netted 27 points for the Hawks, who lost their second straight. Josh Smith posted 23 points and 12 rebounds. Shelden Williams scored 14 points and Speedy Claxton added 12 points and eight assists.

Trailing by 21 to start the fourth, the Jazz outscored the Hawks 40-13 in the quarter to rally back for the victory.

"It doesn’t surprise me because we’re very inexperienced," Johnson said. "We were never hungry and just that quickly we were out of it."

Okur nailed a three from the right corner with 26.3 seconds on the clock to notch a 110-106 Jazz advantage. Fisher added 2-of-4 free throws down the stretch to preserve the comeback.

Utah edged a 22-20 first-quarter lead but got outscored by three in the second to trail 54-53 at halftime.

Atlanta went on a 28-9 burst capped by a pair of Williams free throws with 4:34 remaining to open the game up in the third. The Hawks led 93-72 heading into the fourth.

Utah shot 39-for-70 (55 percent) from the field, compared to 35-for-75 (46 percent) by Atlanta.

Game Notes

Utah has won eight straight, 15 of 17 and 16 of the last 19 meetings with the Hawks...The Jazz have also won four straight and seven of nine at Atlanta.