NEW YORK -- At various points in the first half, it appeared the Utah Jazz left their defense behind on the team flight.

In the second half, the defense arrived while the Jazz struggled offensively. Once the offense joined the defense, the Jazz were on their way to closing out another victory.

Gordon Hayward scored 13 of his 30 points in the third quarter and the Jazz overcame sluggish offense at times, increased their defense and opened a five-game road trip with a 101-89 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Utah began its second five-game trip of the season ranked first in points allowed and third in defensive rating but gave up 52 points by halftime.

The Jazz held the Nets to 11 points in the first six-plus minutes of the third quarter but missed 10 of its first 11 shots and fell into a 62-53 hole.

The Jazz outscored the Nets 48-27 the rest of the way and Hayward willed Utah into a 70-70 deadlock through three quarters. Hayward brought Utah back into it with two 3-pointers, a 20-footer and four free throws.

"When we guard and give ourselves a chance instead of being down 15 or 20 because we're not scoring, we're only down six or seven and that's kind of what happened tonight I felt like," Hayward said. "We couldn't hit anything the beginning of the third and they were up a little bit, but we guarded them for the most part and tied it up."

Utah held Brooklyn to 19 points in the fourth quarter, marking the eighth time the Jazz held a team below 20 points in the final 12 minutes.

Three of those instances are in the last three games. Utah has held Philadelphia, Phoenix and Brooklyn to a combined 43 points in the last three fourth quarters.

"We get more physical," Utah center Rudy Gobert said. "We get more focused and that how we win games. So we just find a way to do that every time and it's what good teams do."

The Jazz played another game short-handed as George Hill (concussion-like symptoms) missed his 22nd game of the season.

Gobert helped hold Brook Lopez to 6-of-16 shooting from the field and added 15 points and 16 rebounds for his 24th double-double. Shelvin Mack started for Hill and contributed 15 points. Rodney Hood also chipped in 15.

"When you think of closing you think of sometimes of offense, I think of defense and baseball and just shutting people down and not letting them get on base and just getting outs and that's what we've got to be," said Utah coach Quin Snyder, who watched his team allow fewer than 90 points for the 14th time and picked up his 100th win. "That's what we've got to be particularly, when George Hill is out.

"Shelvin made a big bucket tonight, Gordon hit some big buckets, and then you've got to just not to let them score and that's the way we need to close."

The big baskets occurred after Hayward rallied Utah and sat for the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Utah took the lead for good when Joe Ingles scored a layup on its first possession of the fourth quarter and took an 11-point lead on a basket by Hood with 6:11 left.

The lead was 89-82 when Hayward returned and the Nets were within 91-86 on a putback dunk by Lopez with 3:11 remaining. Utah countered with a floater by Mack and a short jumper by Hayward on consecutive possessions.

"They played very well on the pick and roll," Lopez said. "They made it tough. I don't think I did a great job guarding that tonight."

The Jazz finished off their fourth straight win with 1:41 left when Hayward went around a Gobert screen, drove halfway through the lane and found former Nets player Joe Johnson for an uncontested 3-pointer, sending many in the stands headed for the exits.

Utah's improved defense in the second half sent the Nets (8-25) to their 20th loss in 24 games since Nov. 12. Fourteen of those have been by double digits.

Trevor Booker had a double-double by halftime and finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. None of those points were in the fourth quarter, and one rebound occurred in the final 12 minutes.

Lopez added 14 points but missed five of six 3-pointers as the Nets were 6 of 27 from behind the arc and 14 of 15 from long range after halftime.

"I definitely think we gave ourselves a chance," Lopez said. "It kind of got away from us at the end."

NOTES: Utah G Alec Burks played three minutes in his season debut after missing the first 34 games rehabbing his left ankle and other leg injuries. In the previous two seasons, Burks missed a combined 106 games. Before Monday, Burks had appeared in three games since Dec. 26, 2015. ... Nets G Jeremy Lin (strained left hamstring) missed his third straight game and 21st game overall. Lin spoke before Monday's game and said while he does not know when his return date will be, the hamstring hurts less than his first left hamstring strain on Nov. 2. Lin also said he has begun shooting and his strengthening is progressing quicker. ... Utah G Dante Exum (left knee tendinitis) missed his sixth straight game and coach Quin Snyder said Exum will be re-evaluated later this week. ... Utah F Joe Johnson made his first appearance in Brooklyn after the Nets bought him out of his contract Feb. 25. He was given a video tribute at the end of the first quarter with highlights of his game-winning shots.