NEW YORK — With a big snowstorm on the way, the Utah Jazz rolled right over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Gordon Hayward had 21 points, nine assists and four rebounds, Rodney Hood scored 16 points, and the Jazz cruised past the Nets 108-86.
"I think tonight, we didn’t start well to begin, but we outplayed them the whole game," Hood said.
Trevor Booker added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who pulled away in the third quarter by shooting 16 for 22 from the field and outscoring Brooklyn 37-17.
"I didn’t like how we started the game," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I didn’t think we had good focus defensively."
The New York City area was expected to get around a foot of snow as a storm approached Friday night, and the announced attendance at Barclays Center was 12,809, about 5,000 less than capacity.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points and Willie Reed scored a career-high 12 for the Nets, who have lost five consecutive games, and 10 of their last 11. Brooklyn also remained winless (0-4) against Northwest Division opponents this season.
Brooklyn began the game on a 12-2 run and shot 5 for 5 from the field. The Nets then cooled off mightily after the hot start by shooting 11 for 36 for the rest of the first half.
"We had a few turnovers at crucial points in the game," Nets forward Thaddeus Young said. "They made shots, we didn’t. The same song and story as it’s been the last couple of games. We get off to good starts and have good first halves and then the second half, we’ll have two crucial turnovers that kind of turns the game and it just slips away from us."
Utah proceeded to pull away in the third quarter by shooting 16 for 22 from the field and outscoring Brooklyn 37-17. The Jazz never looked back.
"We were really good defensively," Hayward said. "We didn’t let them start like they did in the first quarter. Because of that, we were making the extra pass, we didn’t have to attack a set defence, we got good looks and when you get good looks, you’re more often than not going to knock them down."
The Jazz return to Utah for an upcoming six-game homestand.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Snyder discussed the firing of Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt, and thought it was an example of "the volatility" of the coaching profession. "When you get into it, you get into it with eyes wide open and obviously there’s a level of camaraderie that I think people in the coaching industry feel for one another," Snyder said. "I can’t speak to that situation. I obviously have a lot of respect for David and have known him a long time since he was coaching overseas with Maccabi (Tel Aviv) and the Russian national team." … Snyder believes Hayward has taken the next step in his development. "I think his pick-and-roll game was starting to take some steps last year, and more recently this year," Snyder said. "He’s not just scoring in pick-and-roll, he’s finding other people. When I say that, it’s his playmaking ability. I think he’s more aggressive shooting the ball. I think more than anything, there’s a sense that he’s growing and he feels like he belongs on a high level." … F-C Derrick Favours (lower back) did not dress.
Nets: Coach Tony Brown wants Brook Lopez more involved in the fourth quarter on offence. "I have to do a little bit more to try to get him touches late in games in that regard," Brown said. "Even Joe, we want to make sure Joe is handling the ball in a lot of late-game situations so they can impact those offensive scenarios." … Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough and Jarrett Jack did not dress.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host Detroit on Monday.
Nets: Host Oklahoma City on Sunday.
