Lauri Markkanen scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz pulled away in the second half for a 105-94 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday in New York.
The Jazz won consecutive games for the first time this season by allowing a season low in points and holding an opponent under 100 for the second time this season.
Markkanen shot 5-for-10 in the fourth, when he hit 2 of 6 3-point attempts. He finished 8-for-21 overall from the field, 3 of 13 from long range.
Utah’s Collin Sexton added eight of his 18 points in the third and Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 18 as he started for Keyonte George (ankle). Reserve Jordan Clarkson finished with 16 points and eight assists while John Collins totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who shot 47.7 percent and hit 14 3-pointers.
Brooklyn lost for the seventh time in nine games since winning three straight on the road last month. The Nets also lost for the fifth time in their past six home games.
Cameron Johnson struggled with Utah’s defense most of the night and finished with 13 of his 18 points in the fourth. Ben Simmons collected a season-high 15 points while adding 10 assists for his first double-double of the campaign.
The Nets shot 40.4 percent, made just 7 of 40 3-point attempts (17.5 percent) and committed 19 turnovers.
Mykhailiuk scored 10 points in the second quarter as the Jazz turned a five-point deficit through the opening quarter into a 50-45 lead at halftime.
Sexton’s reverse layup gave the Jazz their first double-digit lead at 69-59 with 3:41 left in the third quarter, and dunks by Collins and Clarkson in the final two-plus minutes helped the Jazz take a 75-63 lead into the fourth.
Utah began putting the game away early in the fourth as Clarkson hit a 3-pointer, then found Markkanen for a dunk in the opening minute to make it 80-63. The Jazz took their first 20-point lead when Brice Sensasbaugh dunked and finished off a three-point play with 8:31 left.
Brooklyn made a small dent, getting within 100-87 on 3-pointer by Noah Clowney with 3:30 left, then within 10 on a Johnson layup with 1:26 to go. Markkanen’s trey on the next possession sealed the outcome.
–Field Level Media
