With their 3-11 record in the second game of back-to-back sets coming into Wednesday, perhaps it was inevitable that the Jazz's NBA-best 12-game winning streak would come to an end against the Hawks.
The Jazz looked very much like a team that ran out of gas after a memorable month-long run in the fourth quarter. They went without a field goal in the final five minutes, committed four turnovers and closed the game on the wrong end of a 13-4 run. Even if their winning streak is over, however, the Jazz's five-game road trip is not. They will play the Heat on Saturday in Miami, with coach Jerry Sloan warning his team not to let the end of a winning streak turn into the start of a losing streak.
"We've worked hard to get where we're at," Deron Williams said. "We have everyone healthy, we're back, so we can't let one game just deflate us."
The Jazz's winning streak was the fourth-longest in franchise history, with their last loss before Wednesday coming Feb. 8 at Golden State. After so many weeks of fighting for a playoff spot, the streak left the Jazz in the Western Conference's top four.
HAWKS 100, JAZZ 93: The Jazz became the latest victims of the Hawks, who are 23-7 at Philips Arena this season and had opened a seven-game homestand with victories over Detroit and New Orleans. The Jazz were outscored 27-18 in the fourth quarter and missed their last nine shots over the final five minutes. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 31 points, 21 in the first half, while Josh Smith added 22.
