Jazz 96, Nuggets 84
DENVER -- Forward Gordon Hayward scored 20 points, forward Trevor Booker had 13 points and nine rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84 Thursday night.
Guards Trey Burke and Alec Burks had 12 points each off the bench for Utah, which rebounded from a tough loss 24 hours earlier. Burks added a game-high eight assists.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Jazz by 16 in Utah's home opener on Wednesday.
"(We) played a bad game last night, and we'll probably play a few more," Utah coach Quinn Buckner.
It didn't happen against a Denver team that has lost both of its home games this season. Forward Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 18 points, and forward Will Barton had 12 points.
The Nuggets (2-3) have road wins against the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers but haven't figured out how to duplicate that success at Pepsi Center. They were blown out by the Minnesota Timberwolves six days earlier and then let the tired Jazz pull away in the final 10 minutes Thursday.
Utah (3-2) trailed by one early in the fourth quarter before Burke scored five quick points on two free throws and a 3-pointer. Booker added a dunk to give the Jazz a 72-66 lead.
Denver guard Randy Foye's third 3-pointer of the second half cut it to 72-69 but the Jazz began to pull away.
Booker fed Burke cutting through the lane for a layup, guard Rodney Hood and Hayward hit consecutive 3-pointers, and center Rudy Gobert, who had a game-high 16 rebounds, had a dunk during an 12-0 run that gave the Jazz an 90-73 lead with 4:17 left.
Guard Gary Harris gave Denver brief hope with five quick points, but the lead never left double digits.
The Nuggets led by 13 late in the first quarter, but Utah rallied to pull within 42-40 at intermission. The Jazz continued to hang close until Hood's 3-pointer gave them a 56-54 lead late in the third quarter. It was their first lead since early in the game.
NOTES: The Nuggets signed F Kostas Papanikolauo and waived G Erick Green. Papanikolauo was acquired from Houston over the summer but waived before training camp. He was in uniform Thursday night. ... Utah C Derrick Favors played while battling the flu. He was held to six points Wednesday at Portland and six points Thursday at Denver. ... Nuggets C Joffrey Lauvergne missed his second consecutive game with a lower back strain. ... Utah is starting the season with 10 of its 14 games on the road. The Jazz do not play consecutive home games until hosting New Orleans and Golden State on Nov. 28 and Nov. 30.