NEW YORK _ The question for the Nets when this season began was how Jeremy Lin and D'Angelo Russell would coexist as point guards sharing the same starting backcourt. But in the wake of a season-ending knee injury to Lin in the season opener and Russell's arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday morning, Nets fans would have to agree it's Spencer Dinwiddie's team for the time being.
Dinwiddie scored 25 points, including a career-best 6-for-10 3-point effort, and had eight assists to lead the Nets to a 118-107 victory Friday night at Barclays Center. Not that the game was without its anxious moments as the Nets let a 22-point third-quarter lead slip to nine going to the fourth quarter, but they closed it out in style with a 15-9 run to open the final period and never lost control.
The Nets (6-9) also got 18 points from Allen Crabbe, 17 from DeMarre Carroll, 14 from Trevor Booker and 10 from Caris LeVert. They shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 17 for 37 from 3-point range, and they totaled 27 assists and forced 16 Utah turnovers they converted into 22 points.
The Jazz (6-10) lost for the seventh time in their last eight games and were led by Raul Neto with 22 points and Rodney Hood with 17.
After a hot-shooting start by both teams that included five lead changes and four ties in the opening quarter, the Nets gained control with a 20-2 run that included 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, including back-to-back 3s by Joe Harris at the end of that stretch for a 37-22 lead near the end of the opening period.
Their lead reached a season-high 19 points in the second period on a layup by Booker for a 50-31 advantage. Booker started at center, and Tyler Zeller and Quincy Acy came off the bench in place of Timofey Mozgov, who started the first 14 games of the season. By halftime, the Nets had a 65-49 lead that marked their most points in a half against the Jazz since 1984.
The first half easily was the most efficient on offense of the season for the Nets, who shot 60 percent from the field and were 9 for 19 from 3-point range. An 8-0 burst that included 3s by Dinwiddie and Crabbe pushed the Nets' lead to 22 points early in the third quarter, but the Jazz cut that margin to 89-80 at the end of the period with a 19-9 run.
The challenge for the Nets was to prove they could close out a game they controlled.
