SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) - The Utah Jazz have used several different starting lineups this season with injuries and illnesses. But Will Hardy may have found the right one for now.
Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker scored 27 points and dished out six assists apiece to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
"The team is continuing to improve," said Hardy. I think if you look at the last four games, how we've played on both sides of the ball is way more representative of who we're trying to be. It gives us an opportunity to be competitive night to night."
Sexton had his fifth straight 20-point game to help Utah win for the third time in four games. Horton-Tucker also had a team-high six assists. Lauri Markkanen added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Walker Kessler tallied 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
“I just feel like I’m just in a flow right now,” Sexton said. “It feels good. It feels like the ball is popping. It feels like everybody is involved. We’re all involved and it’s fun.”
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 32 points, and Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Brooklyn's three-game winning streak against Utah was snapped.
Brooklyn didn't trail during the second quarter and led for much of the third quarter. Still, the Nets struggled to create any real separation with the Jazz (10-17). They never led by more than seven points before Utah finally surged ahead for good.
The Jazz used a 15-2 run late in the third quarter to take an 88-80 lead. Sexton, John Collins and Markkanen fueled the run by knocking down 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions.
Brooklyn drew within 108-101 in the fourth quarter following back-to-back 3s from Thomas. The Jazz refused to yield any further ground. Utah scored on five straight possessions to stop the rally. Horton-Tucker scored back-to-back baskets and then fed Kessler for an alley-oop dunk.
"We're just trying to come in and play the right way," Horton-Tucker said. "When guys are down, we've got to pick up the slack. Being able to give our team an extra amount of energy is always something we want to do."
“It’s great when guys play in a way that you would envision them playing over a pocket of time,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “It’s even better when they get a night where the numbers show them in a different way that what they’re doing is paying off.”
Kessler’s basket touched off a 12-0 spurt that put Utah up 120-101 with 2:17 left.
The Jazz shot 10-of-16 from 3-point range in the second half. Utah made only four 3-pointers before halftime, while shooting 22% from the perimeter in that stretch.
The Jazz next open a five-game road trip at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.