Hill shines in return as Jazz top Nuggets
SALT LAKE CITY -- George Hill scored 22 points in his first game back from a thumb injury, and Gordon Hayward added 22 to help the Utah Jazz cruise to a 108-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and collected 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season, while Rodney Hood chipped in 16 points for the Jazz. Utah (8-8) snapped a four-game losing streak behind an impressive offensive performance.
With Hill back at the controls after missing eight games because of a sprained right thumb, the Jazz shot 49.4 percent from the field (39 of 79) and never trailed from the opening tip. Utah also got it done on the defensive end, outrebounding the Nuggets 51-49 and holding Denver to 31.8 percent shooting from the floor (28 of 88).
Jamal Murray scored 23 points off the bench and Wilson Chandler added 13 to lead the Nuggets. It wasn't enough to give Denver (6-9) its third straight win.
The Jazz scored on their first four possessions and jumped out to a 14-0 lead just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. They scored just 14 total points during the first quarter in their loss to Denver on Sunday. Utah more than doubled that amount this time around after shooting 66.7 percent (14 of 21) from the field in the first 12 minutes -- including 6 of-10 from the perimeter.
Hayward opened the initial spurt with a 3-pointer and bookended it with a layup and free throw. The Jazz eventually carved out a 22-3 lead behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Hill and Hood and left Denver struggling to climb out of a chasm. The Nuggets missed their first seven shots before Chandler finally broke the ice with a jumper 4 1/2 minutes into the game.
Chandler did his best to rally the Nuggets from their slow start. He scored 13 points in the first quarter alone to breathe some life into Denver's offense. Chandler, Darrell Arthur and Murray each buried 3-pointers over three straight possessions to cut Utah's lead to 31-20.
Denver finally cut the deficit to single digits on another Murray 3-pointer just before the first quarter ended. The Nuggets erased Utah's lead altogether on a put-back basket from Faried that tied it up at 45-45 with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter. Faried's shot capped a 16-2 Denver run that lasted nearly seven minutes.
Hood answered by cutting to the rim for back-to-back baskets to put the Jazz back ahead going into halftime.
Utah carried the momentum over into the third quarter. The Jazz outscored the Nuggets 17-3 to open the half, eventually taking a 70-50 lead on a 3-pointer from Hill midway through the quarter.
Utah built up a 28 point lead at one point in the fourth quarter, going up 99-71 on a pair of free throws from Hill with 6:26 remaining.
NOTES: Denver F Wilson Chandler ranked first among all NBA bench players in scoring (17 points per game) and third in rebounding (7.3) entering Wednesday. Chandler is one of only 15 players in the league to average at least 17 points and seven rebounds this season. ... Denver averaged an NBA best 49.9 rebounds heading into Wednesday. The Jazz became the first opponent to outrebound the Nuggets this season. ... Utah held its opponents to fewer than 90 points for the seventh time this season -- the most of any NBA team.