SALT LAKE CITY - The Atlanta Hawks are one of the NBAs best shooting teams. They can play a little defence, too.Teague scored 25 points, and the surging Hawks held Utah to 37 per cent shooting in a 98-92 victory on Friday night.Atlanta is one of two NBA teams which rank in the top 10 in field-goal percentage, 3-point shooting percentage and free throw percentage. But its defence played a key role in the road win against the Jazz.We just acted defensively, Teague said. Getting deflections. Getting steals. It led to some easy offensive points for us.The Hawks (24-8) have won three straight and 19 of 22. Coupled with Torontos 126-105 loss at Golden State, Atlanta moved into the top spot in the Eastern Conference.Paul Millsap had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Al Horford scored 13 points in Atlantas sixth consecutive win over a Western Conference opponent.Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and reserve Dante Exum added 13 points for the Jazz. Utah (11-22) was swept in the season series against Atlanta for a second consecutive year.We did a lot better in the second half, Hayward said. Its another game - weve had many of these before - where we get down in a hole, we fight back, we make it interesting and we fall short.The Jazz put together a 12-1 run to make the game close late in the fourth quarter. Hayward drilled a 3-pointer and drove for a layup on back-to-back possessions to help Utah close to 91-87 with 3:38 remaining.But Carroll and Teague then had back-to-back jumpers to put the Hawks ahead 95-87 less than a minute later.Our focus was to just finish the game out, Horford said. We had been playing so well all game, so we just wanted to come out of here with a win.Atlanta used its stout defence to get off to a fast start. Utah did not make a basket for nearly 6 1/2 minutes in the first quarter, and the Hawks opened a 28-9 lead on Millsaps 3-pointer with 3:41 remaining in the period.But the Jazz battled back. Exums 3-pointer with 2:04 left sparked a 19-3 run that carried over to the second quarter. Seldom-used guard Ian Clark capped the lengthy spurt with a 3-pointer that trimmed Atlantas lead to 31-28.The Hawks had a 46-42 lead when they scored on their final five possessions of the first half - capped by three unanswered baskets from Teague - to take a 57-45 advantage into the locker room.They increased the lead to 76-56 in the third on three free throws from Teague and Millsap after Joe Ingles got called for a shooting foul and technical foul.TIP-INSHawks: Atlanta made 22 consecutive free throws and was 26 for 30 from the line for the game. ... Korver reached 1,600 career 3-pointers late in the second quarter. He ranks 15th in NBA history in that category and also ranks eighth all-time in 3-point shooting percentage (.429).Jazz: Utah got strong production from its second unit. The Jazzs reserves outscored the Hawks backups, 47-25. ... Trey Burke was 2 for 19 from the field, including an 0-for-11 performance from 3-point range. ... The Jazz had a 23-9 advantage in second-chance points.INJURY BUGUtahs depth at shooting guard has quickly vanished in recent weeks. Alec Burks is out for the season with a shoulder injury and two more players at the position joined him on the injured list on Friday. Rodney Hood did not dress because of a sore left heel and could be out for up to two weeks. Patrick Christopher then dislocated his right kneecap in the first quarter and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.GIVE EM AN ASSISTAtlanta is building a reputation for being one of the leagues most unselfish teams. The Hawks entered the game ranked third in the NBA in assists with 25.6 per game. Atlanta had 24 assists on 33 baskets against the Jazz.UP NEXTHawks: Visit Portland on Saturday.Jazz: Visit Minnesota on Saturday. Cheap Nike Shoes . -- LeBron James warned the Orlando Magic to stop double-teaming him and ignoring James Jones. Discount Nike Shoes . "Its not done, but its a huge step," Hannover general manager Dirk Dufner said. Poor defending allowed the visitors to score in the second minute, when Leon Andreasens header from Christian Panders cross sent the ball inside the far post. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/. Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank. Nike Shoes Sale . Arsenal had already scored its goals in the third round fixture when the fierce rivalry turned ugly in the final ten minutes as Walcott was being carried off on a stretcher. Cheap Nike Shoes Authentic . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes.AUGUSTA, Ga. -- One after another, some of the worlds best players and favourites to win the Masters trudged up the hill on the opening hole to start their practice rounds. Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy. Adam Scott. It was typical of any Tuesday at Augusta National, except for the scoreboard to the right of where they were walking. The board has the names of all 97 players in the field, with blank boxes to put their scores when the tournament begins. On the far right side of the board is a list of this years noncompeting invitees. Tommy Aaron. Doug Ford. Tiger Woods. "Its a weird feeling not having him here, isnt it?" said Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion and the chief foil for Woods over the years. "Hes been such a mainstay in professional golf and in the majors. Its awkward to not have him here. I hope he gets back soon. I hope hes back for the other majors. As much as I want to win -- and I know how great he is and tough to beat -- it makes it special when hes in the field and youre able to win." Woods hasnt been the same all year, even before back surgery last week. He is missing the Masters for the first time. His presence looms as large as some of the Georgia pines lining the fairways, though it will be forgotten when the opening shot is in the air Thursday, and a green jacket is awarded Sunday. Even so, Woods brings a buzz to any tournament, even at Augusta National. And this year, his absence has brought talk of the most wide-open Masters in nearly 20 years. Las Vegas has installed Scott and McIlroy as the betting favourites at 10-1, followed by Mickelson, Jason Day and Matt Kuchar at 12-1. McIlroy had his own version of a betting sheet on the table where he sat during his interview -- the tee times for the opening two rounds. Told that 97 players were in the field, the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland figured 70 had a chance to win. "Theres a few past champions that play that might not be able to compete. There might be a few first-timers or a few amateurs that wont compete," McIlroy said. "But then youve got the rest. Im just looking down the list here. Stewart Cink. Tim Clark. Ian Woosnam -- no." The room filled with laughter as McIlroy smiled and said, "Sorry, Woosie," referring to the 56-year-old former champion. "Youve got a lot of guys tthat can win, a lot of guys that have won PGA Tour events," McIlroy said.dddddddddddd "OK, were playing at Augusta. Because its the Masters and because its so big and so hyped up or whatever you want to say, you ought to remember that youre still playing against the same guys you play with week in and week out. "Ive beaten them before," he said. "Theyve beaten me before." The PGA Tour is 21 tournaments into the season, and only one player (Zach Johnson) won while he was in the top 10 in the world. McIlroy and Scott each had comfortable leads going into the final round and lost to players outside the top 100. "I think in the past, certainly thats been easy to go to events and look at a guy who is the guy to beat," Scott said, not naming Woods because he didnt need to. "I think that scope has kind of broadened now. Theres a lot of guys with the talent and the form that arent necessarily standing out above the others. But on their week, theyre going to be tough to beat. "Id like to think my name is one of those guys," Scott said. "And I feel like Im going to be one of the guys who has got a chance if I play well this week." Scott had one more occasion to wear his green jacket Tuesday night as host of the Champions Dinner. Then, he sets out in a bid to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only players to win back-to-back Masters. For years, the Masters was seen as having the smallest group of contenders, and not just because it had the smallest field of the four majors. Augusta National is a puzzle that can take years to figure out. The roars that reverberate through the trees and from deep in Amen Corner on Sunday can be unsettling. Scott won two years after he was a runner-up. Jason Day has completed two Masters and has yet to finish worse than third. As for Mickelson? Theres no telling what he might accomplish next. Even though he has withdrawn from two tournaments with different injuries this year, Augusta invigorates the 43-year-old Mickelson. All of them would love to be near the top of the leaderboard Sunday afternoon. By then, no one will be thinking about anything except a green jacket. "No matter who is in contention or who is going to win this week, the Masters always provides a great finish," McIlroy said. "Regardless of who is there." ' ' '