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Brooklyn Nets Highlights: Losing Streak Hits 3 After Loss To Utah Jazz

By Kenneth Teape

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Brooklyn Nets Highlights: Nets Struggles Continue As Losing Streak Hits 3 With Loss To Utah Jazz

The Brooklyn Nets struggles continued on Sunday evening, as they suffered another bad loss, this time to the Utah Jazz. This makes it three losses in a row for the Nets, who are continuing to lose ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race as they go backwards while the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers are heating up. There is still some time for the Nets to make up lost ground, but they have to begin stringing together some wins; all the positive vibes from the end of the West Coast trip and victory over the Golden State Warriors are gone.

Tonight the Nets made yet another change to their starting lineup, as Thaddeus Young made his first appearance in the starting five as a Net since his trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves at the trade deadline. He wasn’t the only change in the starting lineup, as Brook Lopez was reinserted next to Young. The move didn’t equal a win for the Nets, but Young and Lopez kept chugging along as they had strong games once again.

The duo provided their scoring punch that has become pretty consistent, as they led the way with 19 points each. They were the only two members of the Nets starting lineup to score in double figures or make at least half of their shots in the game. They provided a presence on the defensive end, as Young registered four steals and Lopez had two blocks and two steals. Young wasn’t as much of a presence on the glass as he has been of late, but Lopez more than made up for it, grabbing 10 for his second consecutive double-double and ninth of the season.

Only one other Net player reached double-digit scoring, as Bojan Bogdanovic scored 11 off the bench much in part because of some hot shooting from the perimeter; Bogdanovic knocked down 3-4 from deep and 4-7 overall.

The Jazz on the other hand had a much more balanced attack. They had four players score in double-figures, led by 24 from Gordon Hayward. The Nets had no answer for Hayward tonight as he made 7-15 from the field but was able to get to the foul line with relative ease, making 8-9 from the charity stripe.

Hayward wasn’t alone in the starting lineup picking apart the Nets, as former Nets top draft pick Derrick Favors had his way on the inside. Favors finished the game with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists as the Nets had little answer to him. Dante Exum also provided some outside scoring, as he made all four of his three-point attempts and finished the game with 14 points.

This was a game the Nets easily could have won if they had executed a little better. One area they struggled tonight was the foul line, where they shot an abysmal 4-11. Not only is that an embarrassing percentage at 36.4, they also took 10 less than the Jazz, who connected at an 81 percent clip going 17-21.

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That is essentially where the Nets lost the game, as they shot 50 percent from the field overall and 53.3 percent from deep. They scored efficiently from the field on the Jazz, but didn’t convert on the easy ones, which led to their downfall.

This was a disappointing loss for the Nets because it locks up a losing record on a homestand that started out so promisingly with a victory over the Warriors. Things will not get easier for the Nets, as they will host the surging New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday to finish up the homestand before embarking on a four-game road trip.

Next: What Lessons Did We Learn From the Nets First Half?

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