Utah Jazz: Atlanta Hawks rally past Jazz, 100-97

Atlanta • Throughout the day at Philips Arena, players and coaches praised Quin Snyder for his basketball acumen and his ability to get the most out of his teams.

On Wednesday night, it backfired on the new Utah Jazz coach.

The Jazz sputtered down the stretch on the road, letting the Hawks outscore them 18-9 in the fourth quarter of a 100-97 loss. And it was sharpshooter Kyle Korver, someone Snyder worked closely with last season as an assistant coach for the Hawks, who scored what turned out to be the game-winning bucket — a 25-foot triple.

"That was one [Snyder] was always dying to get me to work on," Korver told reporters afterward. "It's a little ironic that the first time I shoot it is tonight. … I was just trying to see. He switched out, and I just backed up to get the lay of the land, to see if there was a mismatch or see what was open. The only thing I saw that was open was just to pull it. I tried to get a little rhythm and let it go."

Snyder probably won't take much solace in that, after his Jazz team dropped to 3-6 on the year and 1-3 as it crossed the halfway point of its Eastern Conference swing.

But Snyder was heartened by his new squad's effort, even in defeat.

The turnovers that have been so plentiful for the Jazz were kept to 11, half as many as Atlanta's 22. The Jazz moved the ball well at times and finished with 28 assists. And Utah shot 50 percent for the game, despite going just 5 of 23 from 3-point territory.

But in the fourth quarter, the Jazz withered.

"That's tough because we played really well," Snyder said. "We had some shots that we've been making. Some of them were in the basket. … I just thought a couple breaks down the stretch and … it didn't go our way."

The Jazz led by eight with 4:18 remaining in the game.

Then Gordon Hayward misfired on a 23-footer. Trey Burke turned the ball over. Enes Kanter missed a 3. So did Alec Burks.

"I didn't think we were just bottled up," Snyder said. "I thought we got good shots."

Former Jazz man Paul Millsap, who had season highs in points (30) and rebounds (17), helped lead the Atlanta comeback.

"They made some shots, we missed some shots. Name of the game. Simple as that. They made some, we missed some. It happens sometimes."

After the Korver 3, his fourth of the night, the Jazz trailed 98-7. On the ensuing possession, Jazz forward Derrick Favors, who had 20 points and six rebounds in his return to his hometown, rifled a pass through the hands of Trevor Booker and out of bounds.

Atlanta guard Jeff Teague was fouled the next trip down. His two free throws gave him 20 points for the game and gave the Hawks a 100-97 lead.

The Jazz had a chance to tie. But with 2.7 left on the clock, Burke fired an off-balance, one-handed attempt from the right angle that banked too hard off the glass.

The loss was Utah's second in a row, with road games Friday in New York and Saturday in Toronto before the team's five-game trip comes to an end.

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz