Nuggets hand Jazz second loss in two nights
DENVER -- Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Jameer Nelson scored seven of his 17 points in the final 3:55, and the Denver Nuggets held on to beat the Utah Jazz 103-93 on Tuesday night.
Darrell Arthur scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench for Denver (19-25).
Derrick Favors scored 18 points and George Hill had 17 for Utah (29-18). The Jazz lost on consecutive nights after winning six straight. On Monday, they dropped a late lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a matchup of the top two teams in the Northwest Division.
Playing 24 hours later was tough, especially against a team that has found its offensive flow. The Nuggets came into Tuesday averaging 121.2 points in their previous six games but faced a stiff challenge against Utah, which is tops in the NBA in points allowed.
The Nuggets trailed by as many as 12 in the first period but finished the first half on a 26-7 run to take a 51-39 halftime lead.
Holding Denver to 51 points in the first half was proof of that stingy defense, but the Nuggets started to pull away in the third quarter. They quickly extended the lead to 16 on Danilo Gallinari's dunk.
The Jazz cut it to 80-71 on Boris Diaw's layup early in the fourth quarter, but Wilson Chandler hit a 3-pointer -- his only points of the game -- and later Arthur's jumper made it 88-73 with 8:34 left.
The Jazz had one final push behind Rudy Gobert. His put-back got the deficit under 10, and a free throw and dunk made it 90-84 with 4:40 left.
After Nelson made it an eight-point game, the Nuggets went cold and Utah cut it to 92-88. Hill missed a corner 3-pointer that would have made it a one-point deficit, and Nelson hit a jumper on the other end with 2:07 left.
After a timeout, Arthur stole the ball from Gobert, and Jokic converted a three-point play to make it 97-88 with 1:39 left.
NOTES: Nuggets G Emmanuel Mudiay was out for the second consecutive game due to lower back soreness. Mudiay left Saturday's game against the Clippers after a hard screen aggravated his back. Coach Michael Malone said the team will not rush him back. ... Utah G Rodney Hood missed his fifth straight game with a right knee hyperextension/bone contusion. ... Denver claimed G Mo Williams but plans to waive him. The Nuggets plan on signing a player to a 10-day contract, possibly F Johnny O'Bryant. ... Utah G Alec Burks played his college basketball at the University of Colorado at Boulder.