Jerry Sloan was ejected for arguing. The Jazz showed as much fight as he did, beating the Nets to every loose ball and rebound. They grabbed 53 boards to 36 for New Jersey and held a 27-16 edge in second-chance points to hand the Nets (12-12) their third straight home loss.

This was not the way the Nets wanted to start this four-game homestand, which continues Friday when Jason Kidd returns for the first time since he was traded to Dallas in February.

The Nets started the game the right way. They outscored Utah, 27-7, in the first period in setting an NBA franchise low for points allowed. But in the second half, the Nets gave up 72 points, including 40 in the fourth period.

Vince Carter led the Nets with 32 points and Devin Harris had 21 points and 11 assists in the Nets? eighth defeat here in 12 games.

Mehmet Okur?s 23 points paced the Jazz (16-11), and Paul Millsap had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Deron Williams added 17 points and 11 assists.

Thing started to go south for the Nets in the second period. Their 22-point first-quarter lead was cut to eight by halftime and the Jazz kept chipping away it. They got within 47-43 after an Andrei Kirilenko fast-break layup with 8:10 remaining in the third.

The Nets came up empty on the next two trips, including a wasted transition opportunity as Carter missed a layup and Yi Jianlian (2 points, 1-for-6 shooting, 18 minutes) couldn?t convert the put-back. It led to a Kyle Korver three that made it a one-point game.

The Jazz scored more points in the third period (32) than they did in the first half (31), but one was the closest they got. Carter scored 15 of the Nets? final 22 points, and buried a 16-foot pull-up with eight-tenths of a second left to give the Nets a 69-63 edge.

Early in the fourth, Sloan was hit with technical fouls on back-to-back trips. He was tossed with 10:29 to go and Utah down, 70-67, but the Jazz made sure their coach would be proud.

They took their first lead of the game, 77-76, on a Ronnie Price baseline jumper with 7:17 left. After consecutive baskets put the Nets up, 80-77, they missed five straight shots until a Carter jumper with 3:11 left. It stopped an 11-0 run and brought the Nets within 88-82.

The Nets went another 1:21 without a basket. Carter hit again to make it 91-84. On the other end, Okur was fouled and made both free throws to make it a nine-point game. After a Carter miss, Okur again went to the line and sank both to make it an 11-point Utah lead with 1:13 left.

The Nets? picked up right where they left off defensively in Monday?s game at Toronto, where they held the Raptors to 17 points in the final period. Only this time, they yielded 10 fewer in a record-setting first quarter.

The previous first-quarter low for a Nets? opponent was nine, and they came seconds away from matching an all-time franchise low for any period. Morris Almond hit a corner jumper with 2.8 seconds left in the first to give Utah seven points and trim the Nets? lead to 20. The Nets? all-time low is five.

"Are we a good defensive team yet? No," coach Lawrence Frank said before the game. "It?s going to be an ongoing thing. Are we going to be an elite defensive team this year? No, but we can improve."

The Jazz were 3-for-19 from the field, making Nets? opponents 7-for-39 in the last two quarters. But the second was much different for both teams.

Predictably, the Jazz, who trailed 15-3 and 27-5, made a run. The Nets did it to Toronto on Monday, after they were down 16-2

In the second Wednesday, the Nets gave up eight points in the first 8:30 and didn?t score their eighth point until 5:30 remained. They maintained a double-digit lead until 22.2 seconds were left. Millsap?s layup cut it to 39-31 and was the last scoring of the half. The Jazz outscored them, 24-12, in the second.

E-mail: iannazzone@northjersey.com