Jazz at Nets
The Utah Jazz lost the first two contests of a four-game road swing in
excruciating fashion and attempt to notch a much-needed victory when
they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Utah suffered a double-overtime
loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday and then fell 118-111 in one
overtime to the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
The Jazz have dropped four of their past five games to fall behind the Sacramento Kings for eighth place in the Western Conference and the loss to the Knicks dismayed small forward Gordon Hayward. "We controlled and outplayed them the entire game and then in the last six minutes we kind of fell apart," Hayward told reporters. "We're a young team. We need to learn from these and take positives from it but it's definitely frustrating." Brooklyn has lost four consecutive games, all by double digits, including a 91-78 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. "I don't think it was our best effort since I've taken over," interim coach Tony Brown told reporters. "I don't know if it was just because it was Cleveland. I don't know, but we could do a lot better on both ends of the floor."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Yes (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (18-24): Shooting guard Rodney Hood (29 points) and Hayward (27) combined to score more than half the points against New York in a contest in which Utah allowed 81 points after halftime. Coach Quin Snyder was disappointed with his team's lack of physical play in the second half and said his squad needs to "be tougher." Hood made five 3-pointers and his effort represented a nice bounce-back outing from a 4-of-17 shooting performance against Charlotte, and also marked his first 20-point contest since Jan. 4.
ABOUT THE NETS (11-32): Brooklyn never got the offense rolling in the loss to Cleveland as it scored 17 points in two different quarters. Small forward Joe Johnson had just three points on 1-of-7 shooting after scoring 22 points against Toronto two nights earlier and power forward Thaddeus Young was critical of the team's performance. "We didn't have the effort and it wasn't being displayed," Young told reporters. "At the end of the day, we have to continue to fight and continue to play and just continue to be ready each and every night. (Wednesday) we weren't ready."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hayward averaged 24 points as the Jazz won both meetings against the Nets last season.
2. Brooklyn backup PG Shane Larkin is 10-of-29 shooting over the past four contests.
3. Utah PF Derrick Favors (back) has missed 15 straight games but the team insists he's close to returning.