Jazz down Nets
SALT LAKE CITY -- George Hill scored a season-high 34 points and dished out seven assists while Derrick Favors added 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 112-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Hill made a season-high 10 field goals on 12 attempts. He also went 11-of-12 from the line. It helped Utah (38-24) snap a two-game losing streak at the expense of the Nets. All five Utah starters scored in double figures.
Quincy Acy scored 18 points off the bench and Brook Lopez added 17 to lead Brooklyn. The Nets (10-50) lost for the 33rd time in their last 36 games.
Utah scored on its first five possessions of the game and staked out a 19-7 lead early in the first quarter. Hill facilitated that hot start. He fed Favors to set up a pair of baskets, scored two baskets of his own and also added four free throws to fire up the Jazz offense.
Brooklyn chipped away at the lead and cut the deficit to 27-22 on back-to-back baskets from Trevor Booker. The Jazz responded with three straight baskets from Alec Burks, Favors and Boris Diaw and built the lead back to a dozen, going up 38-26 by quarter's end.
Favors and Hill combined to hit all eight of their shot attempts in the first quarter. Hill also went 7-of-7 from the free throw line in the first 12 minutes. The duo scored a combined 25 points in that stretch.
As a team, Utah shot 65 percent (13-of-20) from the field in the first quarter.
Amid the torrid shooting from the Jazz, the Nets stayed within striking distance in the second quarter. Brooklyn cut Utah's lead to four, making it 53-49 after Carris LaVert hit a jumper, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson drove for a layup and Brook Lopez threw down a fastbreak dunk over three consecutive possessions.
Hill buried a 3-pointer and Gordon Hayward scored on a running dunk to keep the Nets from getting closer before halftime. Then Utah slammed the door shut in the third quarter.
Back-to-back dunks from Favors and Hayward fueled a 19-3 Jazz run that gave Utah an 82-61 lead with 3:49 remaining in the third. Hayward scored on a reverse layup and Gobert threw down a dunk on the following possession to finish off the run.
NOTES: F Joe Johnson (left groin soreness) and G Rodney Hood (right knee soreness) did not play for the Jazz. ... Nets G Joe Harris left midway through the second quarter after showing concussion symptoms and did not return. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert finished with two blocks and passed Paul Millsap for seventh place on the Jazz all-time blocks list. Gobert now has 521 career blocks. ... Brooklyn C Brook Lopez passed Richard Jefferson for third place in career minutes played for the Nets. Lopez has played 17,522 minutes in nine seasons with the franchise. ... Utah F Gordon Hayward dished out six assists to pass Adrian Dantley for 8th place on the Jazz all-time assists list. Hayward has 1,703 career assists.