Brooklyn @ Utah preview
Delta Center
Last Meeting ( Apr 2, 2023 ) Utah 110, Brooklyn 111
After they both lost in Northern California on Saturday night, the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets are both hoping for a bounce-back win Monday night in Salt Lake City.
The Brooklyn Nets are hoping to end their five-game Western trip on a positive note. They dropped games in Sacramento (131-118 last Monday), in Denver (124-101 on Thursday) and at Golden State (124-120 on Saturday) around a nice 116-112 road victory over the Suns on Wednesday.
Cam Thomas sizzled the nets against the Warriors, scoring 41 points on 15-of-24 shooting with five 3-pointers. In doing so, Thomas set a Brooklyn franchise record for most 40-point games for a Nets player age 22 and under with six. He was previously tied with Bernard King, who accomplished that feat five times.
It's the second time Thomas has scored at least 40 this season and was his best outing since returning from an ankle sprain three weeks ago.
"Cam continues to step up to different challenges. Tonight we needed him to score," Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. "His ability to break down defenses is pretty elite, and then he's continuing to grow in different areas. He's seeing different defenses and he's learning from it. He's growing as a player."
Thomas sensed he was in the groove by the way he was feeling when the game started.
"I felt good coming in. I felt better," he said. "My rhythm is coming back. I'm getting there where I need to be, so I just want to keep it up and keep it going."
Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 points and a season-high 14 assists for Brooklyn, but the Nets' chances were doomed once Steph Curry caught on fire. Curry scored 12 straight points for Golden State in the fourth quarter and finished with 37 points to help the Warriors win a close one.
Incidentally, the Jazz also lost Saturday night not too far away when Sacramento's Keegan Murray went off for 12 3-pointers -- on only 15 attempts -- and torched Utah for 47 points in the Kings' 125-104 blowout win.
Keegan scored 26 points in the pivotal third quarter when the Kings outscored the Jazz 44-26. He became just the seventh player in NBA history to hit a dozen 3s.
"Keegan never let us off the hook," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "Every time you make a mistake, he makes the shot."
Collin Sexton had another strong offensive outing for Utah with 28 points -- his fourth straight game with at least 20 points -- while Lauri Markkanen contributed 18 points.
The Jazz lacked firepower with Jordan Clarkson (thigh), Keyonte George (ankle) and John Collins (illness) all sidelined.
Utah has lost four of six, but the team gleaned hope after recent back-to-back wins over New York and Portland.
"I would just add the word ‘yet.' We're not good enough yet," Hardy told utahjazz.com. "It's not that you're never going to be good enough. ... It's that that's where we are right now or where we are tonight, we weren't good enough to win. I would always just try to spin it with the team because it shows you the level you have to get to.
"It shows you why you're working on what you're working on. I think by adding just that word ‘yet' on the end, it's like we can get there and hope is not lost."
--Field Level Media