Turnovers and missed shots put the Utah Jazz in a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of—despite a furious fourth-quarter rally—as they stunningly fell to the Brooklyn Nets 98-96 Saturday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The Jazz trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the fourth quarter before ending the game on a 25-14 run that fell one bucket short as Joe Ingles’ 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim to seal Utah’s loss.
The Jazz are now 28-30, while Brooklyn improved to 17-42.
Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 27 points for the Jazz, while both Rudy Gobert (12 points, a season-high 19 rebounds) and Derrick Favors (13 points, 11 rebounds) logged double-doubles. Gobert added six blocks but also shot only 4-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Rodney Hood scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Thaddeus Young led the Nets with 21 points, including seven straight points—capped by a step-back three to just beat the shot clock—to start the fourth quarter. Brook Lopez added 19 points, while Wayne Ellington scored 16 points in the win.
Saturday's Best
Hayward stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals. He had a strong shooting night, going 11-for-21 from the field (including 3-for-5 from 3-point range) and 2-for-2 from the line. Hayward also made some clutch shots in the closing minutes, including a huge pull-up 3-pointer with 46.9 seconds left that pulled Utah within three at 92-89.
Hayward, though, didn’t get a chance to take the final shot. He called for the ball as he curled around the top of the key in the closing seconds, but Ingles didn’t make the pass and ended up just missing the potential game-winner.
Key Stretch
The Jazz failed to make a field goal for nearly five minutes near the end of the third quarter as the Nets went on a 9-1 run to take their first double-digit lead of the game. The Jazz scored 35 points in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late.
Significant Stats
21
Utah turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 18 Brooklyn points. The Nets also outscored the Jazz 23-12 in transition.
25.0
The Jazz struggled from outside for the second straight game, going only 5-for-20 (25.0 percent) from 3-point range. Over the past two games, the Jazz are 8-for-37 (21.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Up Next
The Jazz will hit the road to face the Boston Celtics on Monday. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MT and the game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS.