Jazz Shooting To Stay Hot Against Hawks

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will look to win their 13th game in their last 14 outings when they travel to face the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

The Jazz had their 11-game win streak snapped by the Denver Nuggets, but found their footing Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons in Salt Lake City 117-105. The team now embarks on a three-game east coast road trip beginning in Atlanta, before culminating in Charlotte and Indiana.

After Tuesday’s win, the Jazz own the best record in the Western Conference and the NBA at 16-5.

Jazz Are League’s Hottest Shooting Team

The Jazz recent success is thanks in large part to the team’s continued hot shooting. With 16 made threes against Detroit, the Jazz became the first team in NBA history to hit at least 15 threes in 11 straight games.

During Sunday’s loss, the Jazz eclipsed another Houston Rockets record when they connected on 285 threes in January. That beat the Rockets previous record for most threes made in a single month of 279 set in 2016.

On Tuesday, the Utah Jazz finished with 16 3-pt FG in a win vs the Pistons.

It was their 11th straight game with at least 15 3-pt FGM, breaking the record previously shared with the 2019 Rockets pic.twitter.com/EOQ3Creyon

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 3, 2021

It should come as no surprise that the Jazz regularly breaking three-point shooting records this season. Five players on the Jazz roster shooting 40 percent or better from three on at least four attempts per game.

The Jazz are led by Royce O’Neale who shoots 45 percent from deep on an even 4.0 attempts per game, while Donovan Mitchell leads the Jazz in threes made per game, connecting on 3.4 of his 8.5 attempts each night.

Mitchell and Jazz guard Mike Conley are two of the seven guards in the NBA currently attempting at least 7.0 three-point attempts per game while connecting on 40 percent of their attempts.

Currently, only Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum connect on more threes at a higher percentage than Mitchell.

Hawks Seeing Improved Play

The Hawks have seen a recent uptick in play over their last eight outings. The team is 5-3 over the last two weeks, including a home win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The three losses were all competitive and came against the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Throw it down Cam! 💪 pic.twitter.com/vFFWwtWf6P

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 2, 2021

The Hawks have been bolstered by their 4.0 net rating which ranks eighth-best over the last eight games, and have been led by Trae Young who is average 26.9 points during the stretch.

The Jazz will have an advantage against the Hawks as Atlanta hosts the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night on the front end of back to back games before facing the Jazz.

The two teams last met on January 15, with the Jazz winning in an easy 116-92 blowout led by 26 points from Mitchell.

Key Matchup

The key matchup between the Jazz and Hawks will pit centers Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela against one another.

Capela scored 16 points on 8-9 shooting in the two teams last meeting while grabbing 11 rebounds in the loss.

Gobert scored a similar 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on 6-7 shooting in 28 minutes on the floor.

Clint Capela had 4 blocks in the first quarter.

"It happened pretty fast, so I was like 'Hey, why not, just keep doing what you do.'"

Capela got to 10 blocks and had a triple-double.

— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) January 23, 2021

The Hawks center has seen a dramatic jump in play during the team’s recent hot streak. Capela is averaging 16.3 points, 16.6 rebounds, and four blocks per game over the last eight outings.

The run includes a rare 13 point, 19 rebound, 10 block triple-double in a January 22 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Broadcast

The Jazz and Hawks will tip-off at 5:30 pm MST, the game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.