BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Spencer Dinwiddie dragged the Net offense out of the mud momentarily, but it wasn’t enough to tune out the Jazz Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
The Jazz outlasted Brooklyn, 101-91, in an ugly showing, which was the Nets’ worst offensive output this season thus far. This marked their fourth straight loss, the last three of which were at home in Barclays Center.
”I didn’t think we hit open shots,” Kenny Atkinson said after the game. “I thought they locked us up. I thought they played great defense. We couldn’t find clear looks ... it wasn’t like Philly where he had a ton of open looks. Credit to [Utah’s] defense. I thought they were superb defensively and obviously we weren’t at out best offensively. Ball stuck a lot.”
Game Recap
Neither team reached the 40-point mark until a D’Angelo Russell hit a jumper with 38 seconds left in the second quarter. The Jazz responded from then on, and things dragged on, dragged out, with the Nets up by one, 43-42, at halftime.
In the third, neither team started out hot from the floor, but the Nets did manage to put together a significant run late in the period, aided in large part to Dinwiddie, going off for 14 points in the final 2:58 of the stanza.
Before Dinwiddie’s run, he had more fouls (three) than points (two), and the Nets held a 64-63 lead with three minutes left into the quarter. Dinwiddie then went on his tear – including a 9-0 run from 2:58 to 1:35 before Raul Neto converted on a jumper. The Nets carried a 78-70 lead into the fourth. And that’s where hope died.
The Jazz began the fourth with a 7-2 run, immediately cutting into the Brooklyn lead. In the fourth, the Nets missed 9-of-10 shot to begin, and only shot 2-of-17 in the final period, losing another home game down the stretch.
Finally, Rudy Gobert put young Jarrett Allen on a poster with 1:02 remaining, giving the Jazz a 97-91 lead, in many respects.
Utah turned the ball over just 10 times, to Brooklyn’s 20. Donovan Mitchell led the way with a game-high 29 points, while Gobert doubled up with 23 and 16.
Shooting … Or Lack Thereof …
The Nets’ worst offensive showing of the season came at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, where they tallied 96 points on just over 40% from the floor and nearly 29% from three.
Against the Jazz, the Nets shot 30-of-86 from the field, amounting to 34.9%. Shooting sub-35% probably won’t win you much in the NBA. Nets also shot just 11-of-30 from three (36.7%) and 20-of-28 on free throws (71.4%).
“Attribute to their defense and I’m sure some of it’s us,” Atkinson said. “We’ll have to look at it but the ball stuck way too much. We didn’t move it the way we need to. That’s got to be a record (low) for us, 11 assists. That’s just not good enough.”
D’Angelo Russell, who finished with 14 points, shot 6-of-25 for the game; 24%. Dinwiddie paced the Net scoring with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting off the bench, but he also fouled out with 28.3 seconds left.
Rondae’s Second Start
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson started at the 4 for the second consecutive game and finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes. In a night where the Nets couldn’t buy a bucket, Hollis-Jefferson served as a bright spot, as did The Fro, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, his second straight double-double.
“I definitely feel like there’s another gear I can get to,” Hollis-Jefferson said after the game. “I just keep working at the end of the day. There’s always room for growth, room for improvement.”
An Exclusive with Ed
A feature story is in the works, but in the meantime, here’s a preview of what Ed Davis had to say about his decision to come to Brooklyn in free agency.
“I enjoy it here. I enjoy the people, the teammates, the coaching staff, and I’m not one of those players who is just going to say that just because the shit sounds good. If I didn’t like it, I’ll tell you I don’t like it. I enjoy it here. They’ve got a lot of good things going. Sean is definitely doing things the right way. This is by far the best training medical staff that I’ve been a part of in my career and hopefully with all this stuff that they’re into – this technology and loads and all this stuff – it puts some years on my career on the back-end,” – Ed Davis.
Dinwiddie’s Kicks
An homage to Nelson Mandela for game 22, courtesy of The Mayor.
BIG TRADE ... FOR JAZZ
Just as fans were sitting down at Barclays Center (and there were a number of Jazz fans at the game, Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the Jazz had traded Alec Burks and two second round picks to Cleveland for Kyle Korver ... who had set the NBA record for three point shooting the last time he played in Utah.
The news was so breaking that Burks had actually warmed up twice on the Barclays Center court before being told the news. He then informed his teammates.
“I was shocked when he told me,” said Jazz rookie Grayson Allen. “I think everybody was a little bit surprised. It’s just the timing of it but that’s how it goes.”
“It’s a tough thing,” Dante Exum said after Burks told him. “Obviously, being around, I know how that goes but it’s something you never want to see with guys going but I wish the best for him.”
Next up for the Nets is Friday night, at home, against a Grizzlies team that has hit a bit of a wall themselves.
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For a different perspective, head over to SLC Dunk, our Jazz sister site on SB Nation.
- Game Report: Utah Jazz 101, Brooklyn Nets 91 (Box Score) - NBA.com
- Game Recap: Utah Jazz 101, Brooklyn Nets 91 (Video) - NBA.com
- Nets Post Game Plus: UTA@BKN (Video) - YES Network
- Jazz top Nets in fourth quarter (Video) - Ian Eagle & Sarah Kustok - YES Network
- Gobert on Utah’s comeback win (Video) - Michael Grange - YES Network
- Atkinson says Utah’s defense was deciding factor (VIdeo) - YES Network
- Hollis-Jefferson on loss to Jazz (Video) - YES Network
- Russell on Nets’ loss to Utah (Video) - YES Network
- Allen on Utah’s tough defense (Video) - YES Network
- Mitchell returns, carries Jazz to 101-91 victory over Nets - Brian Mahoney - AP
- Nets have no answers for Donovan Mitchell - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Nets scout details personal meeting with ‘pop star’ Pope Francis - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Nets blow another double-digit lead in loss to Jazz, bringing losing streak to four - Greg Logan - Newsday
- DeMarre Carroll, dealing with ankle soreness, plays against Jazz - Greg Logan - Newsday
- With Caris LeVert out and free agency looming, all eyes are on D’Angelo Russell — even if Nets won’t admit it - Moke Hamilton - The Athletic New York
- JAZZ 101, NETS 91: UTAH PULLS AWAY FROM BROOKLYN IN FOURTH QUARTER - Tom Dowd -- Brooklyn Nets
- NETS VS. JAZZ: HOLLIS-JEFFERSON, ALLEN AND ATKINSON TOP QUOTES - Tom Dowd -- Brooklyn Nets
- Donovan Mitchell returns from two-game absence to lead Jazz past Nets in New York backyard - Eric Woodyard - Deseret News
- On a night of comebacks, Jazz top Nets 101-91 to open a three-game road trip - Andy Larsen - Salt Lake Tribune
- Space case: By acquiring Kyle Korver, the Jazz offense gets some breathing room - Tony Jones - The Athletic Utah