Jazz Look To Extend Win Streak To 10 Against Irving And Nets

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will look to extend their league-leading nine-game winning streak against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday night, the second leg of their three-game road trip. The Jazz opened the road-trip with come from behind victory against the Washington Wizards Sunday afternoon 127-116 without Donovan Mitchell. 

The Nets welcomed Kyrie Irving back to the lineup Sunday after missing 26 games with a shoulder injury. Irving wasted no time reincorporating himself into the Nets lineup, scoring 21 points, four rebounds and three assists on a blistering 10-11 shooting. The Nets beat the Hawks 108-86. More remarkable than Irving’s final stat line was that he accomplished the feat in just 19 minutes in the starting lineup. 

Friday night, the Nets snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Miami Heat and have won two straight. 

Kyrie with that SWEEET finger roll 😍 pic.twitter.com/J1OceHN3D7

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 13, 2020

The Nets sit in the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with an 18-20 record, though Irving’s return doesn’t guarantee an end to the team’s recent struggles. In 12 appearances this season, Brooklyn is just 5-7 with the six-time All-Star.

The Jazz defeated the Nets on November 12 in Salt Lake City 119-114. Mitchell scored a game-high 30 points, outdueling Irving who scored 27. 

Mitchell missed the Jazz last game against the Wizards as he’s been battling an illness dating back to the team’s last three-game road trip. With Mitchell out, Emmanuel Mudiay made his first start of the season for the Jazz scoring 10 points, grabbings five rebounds and handing out four assists. 

With Donovan Mitchell out sick Bojan Bogdanovic stepped up with 31 points in the Jazz win over the Wizards. Bogey now has 8 30-point games this season. #TakeNote #NBA pic.twitter.com/5pLahypKuh

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 12, 2020

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz in scoring with 31 points, his eighth outing of 30 points or more this season for the former Nets forward. Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points off the bench. 

Without Irving, Brooklyn has struggled offensively, ranking as the 25th best offensive team in the NBA with an offensive rating of 105.5. The Nets have established a strong defensive identity, ranking 11th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 106.8. The Nets hold opponents to the third-lowest effective field goal percentage in the league at just 49.7 percent. 

The Jazz and Nets tip-off at 5:30 PM MST, the game can be found on AT&T SportsNet.