Atlanta @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 20, 2018 ) Atlanta 99, Utah 94

The Utah Jazz attempt to bounce back from their worst defensive performance of the season when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The Jazz were torched for 45 first-quarter points by the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and never recovered, and the 132-105 trouncing represents the most points they've allowed all season.

Utah won nine of its last 11 games with both setbacks during the stretch coming against Portland. "We're playing well, we're playing better," Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the debacle against the Trail Blazers. "It's hard to see that right now after this loss. We've done so many good things. We've got to continue to fight and push through." Atlanta is 2-2 on a seven-game road trip after committing 21 turnovers during Wednesday's 135-113 loss to the Sacramento Kings. "We're not going to use any excuses," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters after the loss. "The real message is this is part of the NBA. This is our longest road trip and this is part of the NBA where we really want to get some growth."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (16-34): Shooting guard Kent Bazemore (ankle) returned from a 14-game absence to score nine points in 19 minutes off the bench against the Kings. "A lot goes into recovering from an injury as severe as the one I had," Bazemore told reporters. "Felt good to be back out there. I didn't really miss a beat. It's just all about trying to get back in shape where you can play as hard as you can for as long as you can." Power forward John Collins struggled to 5-of-15 shooting and 14 points against Sacramento after averaging 26 points on 29-of-38 shooting over the previous three games.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (29-23): Utah coach Quin Snyder was highly disappointed with the defensive intensity during Portland's 45-point opening quarter as Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum went 9-for-9 for 20 points in the stanza. "If you give up a 45-point quarter, it becomes a long game and you expend a lot of energy trying to get back in the game and we weren't able to do that," Snyder said afterward. "It was a tough night." Mitchell scored 22 points and has topped the 20-point mark in each of the past 13 games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Hawks held the Jazz to an average of 92 points while winning last season's two meetings.

2. Atlanta rookie PG Trae Young scored 23 points against the Kings for his sixth 20-point effort in the past eight games.

3. Utah PF Derrick Favors (4,055) passed former star PG John Stockton (4,051 from 1984-2003) to move into third place on the team's all-time rebounding list.

PREDICTION: Jazz 110, Hawks 103