Jazz 103, Nuggets 93: Gordon Hayward tallied a season-high 30 points, a career-best 13 rebounds and five assists and Derrick Favors added 19 points as Utah snapped Denver's six-game home winning streak.
Richard Jefferson scored 14 points and Marvin Williams added 11 for the Jazz, who have won two straight and are 5-5 since a 1-14 start. Trey Burke scored 10 points and dished out 10 assists while Jeremy Evans contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role for Utah.
Wilson Chandler and Jordan Hamilton scored 17 apiece to lead the Nuggets, who lost for just the third time in 12 games. Timofey Mozgov scored 13 off the bench and J.J. Hickson added 12 for Denver, whose starting backcourt of Ty Lawson and Randy Foye was shut out on 0-for-9 shooting.
Utah came out on fire, hitting seven of its first eight shots - including four 3-pointers - to race to an 18-9 lead. The Jazz survived a cool down in the second quarter and closed the half with a pair of dunks from Favors to take a 53-44 lead into the break.
The lead was as large as 16 after another Favors dunk made it 65-49 with 8:40 left in the third, but the Nuggets wiped out the deficit with a 21-4 run and Jordan Hamilton capped his eight-point quarter with a three-point play to send Denver into the final stanza with a 75-73 lead. Hayward converted a four-point play to give Utah the lead and he and Favors added three-point plays down the stretch to help seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Lawson (hamstring) returned after missing two games but was 0-for-6 form the field and was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 22, 2012, against Charlotte. … Utah, which hosts San Antonio on Saturday, improved to 1-7 in the first game of back-to-back sets. … The Jazz have scored 100 or more points in six of their last nine games after doing so only once in their first 16 contests.
Utah | Denver | |
Gordon Hayward 30 | Scoring | Wilson Chandler 17 |
Trey Burke 10 | Assists | Andre Miller 7 |
Gordon Hayward 13 | Rebounds | Kenneth Faried 9 |
Gordon Hayward 7 | Free Throws Made | Andre Miller 5 |
Marvin Williams 4 | Steals | Wilson Chandler 2 |
Derrick Favors 4 | Blocks | Darrell Arthur 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 103 | 45.2 | 8-21 | 19-20 | 24 | 44 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
Denver | 93 | 42.4 | 7-21 | 14-24 | 22 | 46 | 11 | 7 | 9 |