Jazz struggle to find consistency in loss to Nets

Friday night’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Utah Jazz was a fight between two teams with some of the worst records in the NBA.

Both teams were also without key players. The Jazz played without Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic, while the Nets were without Michael Porter Jr.

In the end, Brooklyn took the 109-99 win over Utah to end a seven-game losing streak, while Utah’s losing streak extended to five games.

It was generally a strange night for the Jazz. They shot just 57.9% from the free-throw line and struggled to settle into an offensive rhythm.

“A few uncharacteristic things in the game in terms of free throws,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “I felt like we missed a lot of layups tonight. A couple of bobbled gathers around the basket, but ultimately, the biggest thing defensively tonight was our physicality with our switching.”

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The Jazz struggled to contain Cam Thomas and former BYU Cougar Egor Dëmin, the latter of whom had a career night with 25 points and 10 rebounds for career-highs in both categories and his first career double-double.

Dëmin got up 12 3-point attempts and made six of them.

He became the first rookie in NBA history to make a 3-pointer in 34 consecutive games. He also hit his 100th career three-pointer in the win.

Furthermore, he became the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five 3-pointers made in a game tonight, surpassing San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, who set the mark almost two years ago.

“He’s been hunting his 3 all season,” Hardy said of Dëmin. “I think he’s done a good job of reading, sitting in the pocket against the switch. The size definitely helps. I’d probably say four of (the 3-pointers) because of his size.

“That’s also the part of his game that he’s really hunting. If you make that your focus, you also can get more up... He’s done a great job.”

The Jazz did get some good production from Brice Sensabaugh, who scored seven points in the fourth quarter and finished with 18, while Kyle Filipowski recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Keyonte George led the way offensively with an efficient 26 points. He shot 9 of 11 from the field and added seven assists.

“I think he’s demonstrated that he’s an elite scoring guard,” Hardy said of George. “He’s not just shooting, he’s facilitating a lot for our team. His efficiency this year has been great.”

George left the court in the fourth quarter after what looked like an ankle injury. Hardy said George had an X-ray, which came back negative.

Still, the Nets led most of the way, especially in the second half. Thomas scored 21 points off the bench for Brooklyn as its reserve unit finished with 50 on the night.

The Jazz didn’t win a single quarter in Friday’s game and lost the scoring battle in three.

The uncomfortable truth about Friday’s loss is that it likely is a good outcome for the Jazz. It’s no secret they want to keep their 2026 first-round draft pick, and they are now just a game away from the Nets in the standings.

The Jazz will need to have their pick be in the top eight. If it isn’t, then it will go to the Oklahoma City Thunder.