Jamie VanderLinden

Utah outscored Atlanta in every quarter on their way to a 82-71 win Thursday night at the Salt Lake Community College. Kirk Snyder led the Jazz with twenty-three points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field and 2 of 3 from downtown. After the game, Coach Chiesa called Snyder's performance "wonderful" stating that Snyder "put it together and showcased his talent."

Raul Lopez had his best game of the tournament. He shot 7 of 14 from the field, 2 of 5 from three point range, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. When asked in the post-game interview what Lopez did to improve tonight, Gordon Chiesa said that Raul did some extra shooting in practice and played through his mistakes with a clear mind.

The game opened aggressively with Kirk Snyder driving hard to the basket and drawing a foul. That was the story through most of the night, as Snyder shot 9 of 12 from the charity stripe. Borchardt fell hard to the ground twice in the first half. With each fall, there was a gasp echoed through the gym. The second time, Curtis pulled himself to his feet, smiled, and winked to the bench.

The two teams were even in virtually every category. Mental toughness was the only difference. The Jazz players were constantly on the ground fighting for loose balls. Said Chiesa, "This was a typical Jazz victory." In the third quarter, Lopez hit two consecutive jumpers with the shot clock running down, one of those for three. One minute later Ruben Douglas completed a four point play pushing the Jazz lead to 55-41.

Utah's hustle play persisted through the fourth quarter. With six minutes left in the game, Raul knocked the ball into the backcourt. Snyder slid across the floor to the ball and sitting on the hardwood floor, bounced it into the air to Dan McClintock who winged the ball to Curtis Borchardt at the key. Finally, Curtis passed to Kueth Duany who was fouled.

Atlanta appeared to have one last run in them with a minute left. Josh Childress made his only shot of the game, a three pointer, to bring the lead to nine points. On the next play, Childress stole the ball from Borchardt. The Hawks closed the gap even more after a foul and an offensive rebound; they were now behind by only five points, 74-69, with 45 seconds left in the game. Fortunately, the Jazz made their free throws and on the final play showed why they were about to put it away for good. Keith Waleskowski threw the outlet pass down court to Lopez. On the run, Raul pitched it ahead to Duany who touch passed the ball back to Lopez, and with 8.9 seconds remaining, Lopez tossed the ball sideways to Kirk Snyder for a dunk.

Kris Humphries, Jermaine Boyette, and Maurice Williams did not dress for the game. Coach Chiesa said that there is a possibility that Humphries will be back tomorrow or Saturday. Friday's game will be against the Charlotte Bobcats at 8:00 PM MST. It will be televised on NBATV and KJZZ, as well as broadcast on KFAN radio.