Final
Lopez, Nets down Jazz
Nov 6, 2013 - 5:52 AMVideo
Lopez added a team-high seven rebounds while shooting 10-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free throw line in the victory, as Brooklyn bounced back from a disappointing blowout loss to the Magic on Sunday. Brooklyn outscored Utah 58-26 in the paint.
"He's very poised and very strong," said Nets forward Kevin Garnett about Lopez. "He's a real chill person, but he has a fire."
Joe Johnson had 12 points while former Jazz star Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston all scored 11.
Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter were the lone bright spots for Utah, netting 22 and 21 points, respectively, in the Jazz's fourth straight loss to open the campaign. Alec Burks chimed in with 13 points off the bench and rookie Rudy Gobert corralled a game-high 11 rebounds.
"It's frustrating losing," said Hayward. "I hate losing and we had three close ones and then kind of fell apart tonight. I think we got to try and find some positives and pick ourselves up. We got another one tomorrow."
Brooklyn established its dominance down low early on, forcing Utah to double the post and leave the perimeter unguarded. Pierce opened the game with a wide-open triple and less than five minutes into the contest, the Nets led by a 12-2 score.
"As a team, that's what we talked about yesterday," said Nets coach Jason Kidd. "We were kind of a jump-shooting team and yesterday's practice was the only way you could score was getting the ball in the paint. The drills and the things that we did to focus carried over to tonight."
Burks provided a spark for the Jazz and earned two trips to the line late in the period, but Livingston's jumper with less than a second remaining gave the Nets a 10-point edge at 28-18.
Richard Jefferson, who played for the Nets for the first seven years of his career, converted a dunk with 7:01 left in the second to pull Utah within five at 31-26, but it was all Brooklyn from that point. The Nets outscored the Jazz 23-12 for the duration of the quarter and took a 54-38 advantage into the locker room.
Kidd removed his starters for good late in the third after Brooklyn built a comfortable 24-point lead. Williams' scoop layup at the 4:45 mark brought the crowd to its feet and removed any doubt of a Jazz comeback, with the Nets leading 78-54 at that stage.
Game Notes
Utah's Brandon Rush played 10 minutes in his first game action since tearing the ACL in his left knee on Nov. 2, 2012 while a member of the Warriors ... Williams added eight assists in his first win against his former team. He had been 0-4 in four prior meetings ... Brooklyn held the Jazz to six fast break points while scoring 25.
Nov 5 10:00 PM- UTAH: 61
BROOKLYN: 85
End of 3rd
Nov 5 9:25 PM - UTAH: 38
BROOKLYN: 54
Halftime
Nov 5 8:49 PM - UTAH: 18
BROOKLYN: 28
End of 1st
Nov 5 8:09 PM - UTAH: 0
BROOKLYN: 0
1st Quarter - 11:43
Nov 5 7:41 PM
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