The Brooklyn Nets came into Vivint Arena prepared to face off against the Utah Jazz. This was not your usual Nets team, though. This was a Nets team excluding James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Blake Griffin. Harden was out with a neck injury. Irving was out because of personal reasons. Griffin missed the game due to injury management of his left knee. The last time these two teams met was on January 5th, and the Nets came out victorious. However, tonight was a totally different ball game.
The Jazz came out all gas, no breaks. They took a 13 point lead halfway through the quarter. The Nets defense struggled to maintain Donovan Mitchell and allowed him to knock in 12 first-quarter points. Their defense also allowed the Jazz to shoot 61% from the field and 63% from behind the arc. With 2 minutes to play, the Nets were down 21. The Jazz took total control of the opening quarter and went into the second 38-17.
Starting the second quarter, the Nets went on an early 7-0 run. They had cut their deficit to 11, but toward the end of the quarter, they were down 21 yet again. A two-point bucket by Royce O’Neale put the Jazz up 24 with a little over 3 minutes to go in the half. It was a 63-38 game as both teams were headed into the locker room. That was the fewest points in a half by the Nets all season.
About 4 minutes into the third quarter, the Jazz opened a 33 point lead. The Nets were outscored 15-2. Both Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic were the fuel to the fire for the Jazz. Bogdanovic had 11 third-quarter points with 2 free-throws and 3 consecutive three-pointers. Mitchell had 7 points consisting of a three-pointer, a layup, and a jump shot. The score was 90-61 to end the third.
Knowing they had this one in the bag, coach Quinn Snyder sent the Jazz starting lineup to sit while his bench came into the game. There was not much of a difference, though, as they went on a 12-4 run to open the fourth quarter. The closest the Nets were able to get was within 29 at the 1:44 mark. The Jazz annihilated the Nets 118-88.
This win marked the 17th straight home victory for the Jazz. Mitchell finished the game with 27 points. Behind him were Bogdanovic and Mike Conley with 18 apiece. Though the Nets did not have the game they would like, Alize Johnson was their silver lining. Johnson was signed to a 10-day contract after playing for the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He made a statement in his Nets debut with a double-double. Johnson finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
“I just want to prove to everybody that I belong here in the NBA. I put in a lot of hard work,” Johnson said. “I’m going to continue to keep working and try to be the best player I can be.”
Up Next:
The Jazz will host the Memphis Grizzlies for game one of a 2-game set on Friday, March 26th at 9:00pm.
The Nets will travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Friday, March 26th at 7:00pm.
