Jazz 98, Nuggets 84
Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 20 points and collected 12 rebounds as host Utah won its third straight.
Derrick Favors battled foul trouble before finishing with 19 points in 25 minutes and Gordon Hayward scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half for the Jazz. Trey Burke scored 10 of his 12 during a key second-quarter run and Joe Ingles also scored 12 for Utah.
Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, now guaranteed to finish with a worse record than last season’s 36-46 mark. Ty Lawson added 15 points and Will Barton finished with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Denver.
The Jazz made their move in the second quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 32-13 to move ahead 54-42 lead at the half. Burke helped turn a seven-point deficit into a one-point lead by scoring 10 points in just over four minutes to start the quarter and then the starters checked back in and they stretched the advantage to as much as 14 with 3:08 left in the half.
Denver traded points with Utah for the first six minutes of the third quarter but the Jazz began to inch further away and went up by 21 on Chris Johnson’s 4-footer with 2:25 left in the third. Utah scored the final five points of the quarter to take an 81-59 lead into the fourth and the Jazz maintained a comfortable margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Utah rookie G Dante Exum produced a season-best 12 assists, five more than his previous season high. … The Jazz held their 26th opponent under 90 points this season, which leads the NBA. … Gobert averaged 14.9 rebounds in March, second most in the NBA.