The Jazz are the first team in the NBA to win 10 games. That’s not something I thought I’d be writing before this 2022-2023 season began, but here we are, and boy is this Jazz team fun to watch! The Hawks got Trae Young back, but that wasn’t enough to get them over the top against the Jazz in Atlanta tonight.

In the first quarter the Jazz got out to an early lead, but neither team shot the ball particularly well. Lauri Markkanen made his mark on the game early scoring 16 of his 32 points in the first quarter, shooting 50% from the field, and getting to the line 8 times! He was in attack mode early and it took some time for the Hawks to figure out how to handle him.

In the second quarter, the Jazz shot lights out from three, going 7/12 from long range. The Jazz ran up the score in the first half with a bit of shooting luck and a huge free-throw discrepancy shooting 16 FTs to the Hawks’ 5 in the first 24 minutes. This would come back to bite them in the second half.

In the third quarter, things started to fall apart for the Jazz. They couldn’t get stops and the Hawks put up 32 points in 8 minutes of play. After having a field day against Kelly Olynyk, Will Hardy went to the man, the myth, the legend, Walker Kessler, who played a huge role in turning the tide in this game. Kessler, along with the second unit, trimmed a 10-point deficit to 5 going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was when we got another episode of the Malik Beasley show, and I think this has been the best of the season so far. The Hawks kept losing him on defense, and Beasley kept making them pay, going 4/5 from three-point range in the fourth quarter. The closing lineup for the night was Conley, Beasley, Clarkson, Vanderbilt, Markkanen, and this lineup absolutely slammed the door on any of the Hawks' late comeback hopes.

With this win the Jazz improve to 10-3 on the season. The Jazz get 2 much needed nights off before facing the Wizards on Saturday, November 12.

Player of the Game

Tonight’s player of the game has to go to Walker Kessler, who absolutely showed out in his hometown. He posted 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 assist in just 16 minutes of play, also putting up an impressive +14 for the night. His defensive presence really changed the game and forced the Hawks into a lot of tough shots that helped spur a Jazz run to win the game.

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Honorable Mention:

The more obvious choice for the player of the game would have to be Lauri Markkanen, who put up an awesome 32 points, 8 rebounds, and a block.

Jordan Clarkson also had a great night with 23 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.

The Utah Jazz play next on Saturday, November 12th, 2022, in Washington D.C. against the Wizards at 4:00 pm