Thaddeus Young Scores 21, Nets Beat Jazz 98-96

Thaddeus Young had 21 points and eight rebounds while Brook Lopez added 19 to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 98-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

Wayne Ellington had 16 points for the Nets, who broke a three-game losing streak to the Jazz extending to last season.

Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and Rudy Gobert chipped in 12 points, a season-high 19 rebounds and six blocks to lead Utah. Rodney Hood scored 15 points while Derrick Favors added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

It wasn't enough to keep Utah from losing at home to an Eastern Conference opponent for just the second time in nine games.

Trailing by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, the Jazz rallied and cut the deficit to 92-89 on a 3-pointer from Hayward with 46.9 seconds left. Lopez dunked it to push the lead back to five. Hayward answered with a dunk of his own and then Rodney Hood made three free throws to trim Brooklyn's lead to 96-94 with 15.6 seconds left.

Donald Sloan and Ellington each went 1-of-2 down the stretch, giving Utah a chance to win it in the final seconds. Joe Ingles' 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer, preserving the Nets' victory.

The Nets traded baskets with the Jazz well into the second quarter before eventually building up a 36-32 lead on a jumper from Lopez. Utah answered with a 7-0 run, punctuated by back-to-back layups from Ingles, and went up 39-36. Brooklyn countered with consecutive 3-pointers from Bogdanovic and Ellington to retake a 48-43 lead going into the locker room.

Utah trailed the Nets throughout the third quarter.

Utah went nearly five minutes without a field goal and Brooklyn took advantage, extending its lead to 70-59 after Young turned a steal into a dunk, Ellington drained a 3-pointer and Larkin drove for a layup in the final minute of the quarter.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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