Jazz at Nuggets
THE STORY: The Denver Nuggets opened the season with a resounding rout of the Dallas Mavericks and look to make it two victories in two games when they host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Denver received 27 points from Ty Lawson, rolled off 20 straight points at one point and led by as many as 33 points in Monday’s 115-93 victory over the defending NBA champions. The Nuggets are hoping the fancy debut is a sign they are in store for a highly successful season but veteran coach George Karl aimed to keep things in perspective. “It’s way too early to get crazy but it felt good,” Karl said afterwards. Utah’s debut on Tuesday wasn’t nearly as fruitful. The Jazz scored just 31 first-half points against a Los Angeles Lakers squad playing for the third straight night while falling 96-71. The Jazz shot just 32.2 percent, while the output was the lowest point total in a season opener in the franchise’s 37-year history.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (0-1): Forward Paul Millsap came into his own last season by averaging 17.3 points in his fifth NBA campaign but has been asked to come off the bench this season. Millsap isn’t overjoyed with Corbin’s decision – he called it “a tough thing to try to swallow” – but scored a team-high 18 points in 27 minutes off the bench in the loss to the Lakers. Millsap played despite being a game-time decision due to a quadriceps injury.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (1-0): Denver is asking 13-year NBA veteran Andre Miller to be a backup to Lawson and the player with over 7,000 career assists is buying in. The Nuggets acquired Miller from the Portland Trail Blazers in a summer trade that included Raymond Felton, who had to settle for a reserve role after joining the Nuggets in the February deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks. Miller seems to mesh better with Lawson, and had 18 points and five assists in 27 minutes in his Nuggets’ debut.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Denver has won five of its past six home games against Utah.
2. Utah center Al Jefferson was 2-of-16 shooting and scored just four points in the loss to the Lakers.
3. The Nuggets are 12-5 when Lawson scores 20 or more points.