Hawks game summary
by Jamie VanderLinden
 
Deron Williams set the tone for the Jazz. There was an obvious difference in the confidence level of the team when he was on the floor. The Jazz ran the court, and Deron hit the open man time after time. Not only did he dish out 7 assists, but he shot 2 for 3 from behind the arc and 7 for 9 overall. Coach Tyrone Corbin was pleased with Williams' output stating that he looked comfortable with the game and the offense. Corbin continued saying that Williams' confidence and desire to compete is much higher this year because of his success at the end of last season. The point guard position was strong all night. Dee Brown was shaky to begin the game but soon fell into pace scoring 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. According to Corbin, Williams has played a role in helping Brown to learn the Jazz system.

The big story of the night was the level of aggressiveness, especially for a game in July and from Jazz players with a spot on the roster already. We all remember Karl Malone's anger when anyone touched John Stockton. Could we finally have another intimidator? In the first quarter, Rafael Araujo sprinted down court as the Hawks attempted a fast break, grabbed the ball, and threw the opposition to the ground. A flagrant foul was called. The crowd was belligerent hoping for a jump ball. The first quarter ended with the Jazz ahead 20 to 14. The second quarter began with several turn overs for the Jazz, but Williams' return to the game brought the Jazz swiftly back to their style of play. For one stretch, Williams scored 5 quick points to put Utah ahead by 15. They ended the half up 42 to 30.

The third quarter was more of the same. A couple minutes into the half, Williams hit a 3 pointer to put the Jazz ahead 53-36. The next Jazz possession, Araujo was fouled awkwardly under the basket by Marvin Williams. Araujo jumped toward Marvin and threw him to the ground with one arm. The teams were suddenly deadlocked with referees separating players. Once again, Araujo showed his toughness. Haffa was ejected and Marvin Williams given a technical foul. Araujo left the game with 6 points on 2 of 4 shooting and 3 rebounds. The Jazz headed into the 4th ahead 76 to 51 after Brown hit two 3-pointers in a row.

Corbin expressed that he was pleased with Rafael Araujo's conditioning. He said, "Body wise, he looks really good...He feels great about being here and is working hard." However, he did feel that Araujo needs to learn how and when to be aggressive. When asked about the rookies, he only said that it is still a learning process for them.

The Jazz took their first game of the Revue 98 to 76. As a team, they shot 50.8% from the field, 60% from behind the arc, and 76.5% from the charity stripe. They out-rebounded Atlanta 42 to 20 and committed 21 turnovers compared to Atlanta's 17. The next Jazz game is Saturday night against Philadelphia at 7:00.

SCORE BY PERIODS

.............1 ..2 ..3 ..4 .FINAL
Hawks 14 16 21 25 76
Jazz ....20 22 34 22 98

Notes: Deron Williams second child is due and is expected to only play 2 games in the summer league. He will be returning home to Dallas to await the birth of his child.