Jazz Snap Losing Streak With Win Over Nets
Jan 12, 2025, 9:50 PM | Updated: Jan 13, 2025, 2:26 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz won their first overtime game of the season recording a 112-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Isaiah Coller scored 23 points while Collin Sexton added 21 in the win.
The Nets were led by Tosan Evbuomwan who scored 22 off the bench.
Game Blog: Jazz Survive Nets In Overtime
Collier Records Career-High In Jazz Win Over Nets
The Jazz extended the Nets losing streak to five games with Sunday’s win, shouldered by Collier’s career night.
The guard’s 23 points were a career-high, as were his three made three-pointers. The rookie also added seven rebounds, seven assists, and the game-deciding layup with 2.4 seconds left in overtime.
let’s watch that one again ⏮️#TakeNote | @isaiahcollier04 https://t.co/mIdcfMTFYM pic.twitter.com/pgmOLReM2Q
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 13, 2025
Collier is now 5-14 from three in his last three games, nearly doubling his previous career total (six).
“You’ve got to be able to shoot to be in this league,” Collier said. “So that’s the biggest thing right now, and just competing every single day, working every single day.”
Collier has excelled as a playmaker since moving into the starting lineup for the injured Keyonte George averaging eight assists over his previous four games, but it wasn’t until his performance against the Nets that he showed off his scoring prowess.
The 20-year-old repeatedly got downhill against Nets defense, beating Brooklyn in transition and off the dribble.
The guard briefly left the game after getting fouled on a dunk that sent him careening to the floor, but after clearing the concussion protocol, he returned to the floor in time to become a hero in overtime.
Here’s the Isaiah Collier fall after the great block/dunk sequence.
Career night for the rookie who finishes with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists with only 1 turnover. pic.twitter.com/YBXa3mV2hs
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 13, 2025
Collier has struggled to shoot the ball early in his career, knocking down just 32 percent of his field goals and 16 percent of his threes, but showed how valuable he could be as a long-term project of his scoring efficiency improves.
There’s no guarantee the guard will develop his shooting, but his ceiling is intriguing if he does.
What Has Hardy Seen From Elijah Harkless?
With the lengthy injury report against the Nets, the Jazz once again turned to rookie Elijah Harkless who was playing in just his second NBA game on Sunday night.
The rookie had a scoreless debut on Saturday in Phoenix but snared four rebounds in just nine minutes.
“I saw some very physical defense from Elijah,” Hardy said of the rookie’s debut, “I also saw a lot of humility when he had the ball. I thought that he wasn’t pressing. He wasn’t trying to prove to me or us or anyone, anything on the offensive side.”
Rookie Elijah Harkless discussed scoring his first NBA points, and what it meant to play in front of @utahjazz fans for the first time.#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/kDyw3lK3CF
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 13, 2025
Related: Elijah Harkless Records First Career Points
Harkless followed his 0-1 shooting performance against the Suns with a three point, three rebound, one assist outing against the Nets in a career-high 18 minutes.
Though his time with the Jazz has been limited, Hardy had positive things to say about the 24-year-old guard.
“He’s really serious, I mean that in a good way,” Hardy added. “He stares into my soul in the time out, since he’s really listening and he communicates well with his teammates.”
Despite averaging 29.5 points in four appearances with the Salt Lake City Stars, Harkless’s defense is how he’s earned his two-way contract with the Jazz.
“He’s one of our better communicators on the defensive side of the ball. That’s how he sees himself, he sees himself as a defensive-minded player, which I love,” Hardy concluded.
Utah Jazz Next Broadcast
The Jazz will host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
