Big nights from Lauri Markkanen and Ace Bailey not enough for the Jazz to take down the Hawks

On any other night, against almost any other team, the effort from the Utah Jazz would probably been good enough for a win.

But the Atlanta Hawks were graced by the basketball gods on Thursday night.

Led by a career-best 32 points from Onyeka Okongwu and a triple-double from Jalen Johnson, the Hawks improved to 8-5 on the season with a 132-122 win despite missing their star player, Trae Young.

But it was by no means an easy feat for the Hawks. Though they shot 51% from 3-point range on the night (including Okongwu hitting 8 of 14 from deep and Vit Krejčí going 6 of 8) and opened up an 18-point first-half lead, the Jazz managed to stay the course and chip away, even retaking the lead in the second half and making the Hawks earn their keep.

“It was a back-and-forth game all night, a lot of shots made by both teams,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “But these guys are playing like a team, and I’m really proud of the way they are encouraging each other, the way that they’re sticking together, the way they’re fighting as a group.

“You know, tonight was just one of those nights in the NBA where you come out and you’re a half step behind and the other team catches this great rhythm.”

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Great rhythm is a bit of an understatement.

Prior to Thursday, in his six years in the NBA, Okongwu had never even attempted more than seven 3-pointers and never made more than four in a single game, and Johnson, who finished with 31 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists (all career-highs), matched his career-high in made 3-pointers, going 4 of 5 on the night.

But right there alongside the brilliant performances from the Hawks was Lauri Markkanen, who hit 6 of 12 from deep and finished with a game-high 40 points. Then there was rookie Ace Bailey, who set his new career high with 21 points.

The Jazz stormed back with tight defense in the third quarter and forced the Hawks to fight until the end, which was encouraging for the now 4-8 team that is trying to build some good habits.

“It takes a lot of energy to come back,” Markkanen said. “Shots that normally wouldn’t bother us that much...now they hurt us a lot because we had to try to be perfect to make the 18-point comeback, so we can’t dig ourselves in that hole.

“But again, shows a lot about this team to kind of climb back and get the lead. We just got to be able to hold on to it.”

There were turnover hiccups, some rookie mistakes, some fatigue, and it took the Jazz a while to get into their defensive rhythm, so there are things that the team can do better, even from the start. With time, experience, reps and possibly more talent added to the team in the future, the Jazz are hopeful that closing games will come more naturally.

But for now, they have to take the moral victories when they come.

And after shooting 43.2% from deep as a team, dishing out 39 assists on 45 made baskets and having five players score in double figures, the Jazz will take this loss but look at the silver linings — they never rolled over and gave up and they were able to push themselves when they were down.

It didn’t make for a win, but it’s not the wins that matter right now.