Balanced Nuggets bury Jazz
DENVER -- Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Wilson Chandler scored 17 points off the bench, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 105-91 Sunday.
Danilo Gallinari added 13 points and eight assists, and rookie Jamal Murray scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets (5-8).
Denver, which got a boost with the return of shooting guard Will Barton, won despite missing 17 free throws. The Nuggets were 13 of 30 from the line and late in the fourth quarter had a higher 3-point percentage (36.4 percent) than a free-throw percentage (36 percent).
Barton recorded seven points in 19 minutes.
Gordon Hayward had 25 points and seven rebounds for Utah, which dropped its fourth in a row.
The Jazz (7-8) have struggled to score in their losing streak. They led only once Sunday, after the first possession, and shot just 38.8 percent. Utah is averaging 91.1 points in the past four games, in part because injuries are taking a toll.
On Sunday, cold shooting put the Jazz in a big hole early, and they could never dig out. They were 5 of 22 in the first quarter and scored just 14 points, a season low for the first period. They trailed by 19 and had scored just 28 points with 3:40 left in the first half.
Utah made six of its last seven shots of the half to get within 12, and a 7-0 run early in the third got the deficit to nine.
Denver quickly got the lead back up with six straight points. The game hovered around 10 points before the Nuggets pulled away in the fourth.
Murray hit two 3-pointers and a layup to give Denver an 86-71 lead. Nurkic poked the ball away on the next possession and hit a fastbreak layup, and Gallinari's driving dunk made it 90-71 with 7:34 left.
NOTES: With the return of G Will Barton, who missed nine games due to a sprained ankle, the Nuggets are only missing G Gary Harris (foot) because of injury. F Mike Miller is away from the team for personal reasons. ... Utah F Boris Diaw was back after missing the Saturday game in Houston for an undisclosed reason. Coach Quin Snyder said he was going to watch Diaw's minutes. ... Denver F Darrell Arthur (knee) was cleared for action but didn't play in the Nuggets' games against Phoenix and Toronto because of the glut of players in the frontcourt. ... Jazz C Derrick Favors (left knee contusion) missed his third game, while G George Hill (sprained right thumb) missed his eighth.