SALT LAKE CITY — The Nuggets might finally be breaking a decades-old curse in Utah.
Denver’s NBA team had never won two road games against the Jazz in a season in franchise history — until now, with a 132-121 triumph on Monday night at Delta Center.
The Nuggets (18-13) held Utah to 23 points in the third quarter while Nikola Jokic scored 17 of his 36 points, part of his 13th triple-double of the season (23 rebounds, 10 assists). That was enough to open up a 98-89 lead that quickly went away during Jokic’s rest minutes in the fourth. He checked in with 7:28 to go as Utah (7-24) trimmed the score to 109-107, then he knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession.
It ignited an 11-2 run that was finally enough put away a gritty Jazz squad.
How did coach Michael Malone hope to keep his team motivated ahead of time against a seven-win opponent?
“We told them they’re undefeated,” Malone said. “I don’t know if it’s gonna work or not.”
Russell Westbrook played one of his finest games yet in a Nuggets uniform, going for 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and zero turnovers. He was 7 for 7 from the floor, 2 for 2 from the line and a team-best plus-23. During Denver’s decisive push, he made an outstanding save on the defensive baseline, crashing out of bounds. He was slow to get up while the Nuggets missed a transition layup. Then on the next defensive possession, he was in the right place at the right time for a steal. He sprinted the floor and lobbed to Peyton Watson for a layup.
“He came in, and this is a guy who’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. One of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. And what I admire so much about him aside from the leadership and toughness he brings every single day, is he’s got no ego. He (says), ‘I’m playing with that guy. I’m gonna play through him. I’m gonna make better. And if I do that, that means I’m doing my job to help this team win. And he came here for one reason. That’s to help us win a championship. He hates to lose. And that’s what I also love about him. He’s built the right way. I’ll go to war with Russell Westbrook any day.”
Jamal Murray added his own double-double with 20 points and 10 assists. Michael Porter Jr. scored 21.
Both coaches called timeouts to useful ends during the opening quarter. Utah went on a 12-2 run out of Will Hardy’s first. Denver answered with a 13-2 run out of Malone’s. The Nuggets have been calling a fair amount of after-timeout plays to generate 3s for Jokic, who entered the game with his league-leading clip back up to 50%. The one he buried out of Malone’s early timeout in Utah was some of the only success he had shooting the ball until after halftime. In the meantime, he was delivering spot-on assists, such as an over-the-head dime to a cutting Murray and a no-look skip pass to Porter for three.
Denver continued to be failed by its own defense. As Hardy urged the Jazz to hurry up the floor and get two possessions out of the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets didn’t get out on Clarkson’s predictable deep three attempt. It gave Utah a 37-36 lead that maybe should’ve been 40-36 at the end of the quarter — Denver allowed another open 3-point look that rimmed out at the buzzer.
The Jazz rattled off another 15-2 run in the middle of the second, again started by a Hardy timeout. Increased ball pressure started getting to Murray. Walker Kessler’s wingspan was getting to Jokic. The officiating was getting to Malone. Late in the half, Jokic was knocked on his stomach as he made a layup, but no foul was given. At the other end, Porter seemed to defend a Clarkson drive successfully but was called for a late touch foul after the miss. Between free throws, Malone took a well-earned technical foul.
And as the Nuggets walked to the locker room, Malone and Jokic lingered for an extra word with the officials.
Murray issued some of his best assists of the year as well. The highlight was a half-court alley-oop to Watson, which Murray telegraphed with a wild facial expression toward the high-flying forward. The pass still miraculously evaded air traffic.
By the end of the night, he had also thrown a perfect lob to Christian Braun and a behind-the-back bounce pass to the 23-year-old guard for another transition dunk. Braun feasted on run-outs, scoring 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
“One of his achievements (in college at Kansas), they win a championship, and in that championship game, he never came out,” Malone said before opening tip. “He played all 40 minutes in that championship game. And in those 40 minutes, I don’t think (KU coach) Bill Self called one play for him. Which means he is just an energy guy, a hustle guy, a guy that runs the floor extremely well.”
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