Monday night’s game against the Utah Jazz opened with Nikola Jokic being honored as the Western Conference Player of the Month for the second time this season. In November, Big Honey (a BB-approved nickname) averaged 32 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 11 assists as the Nuggets cruised to the second best record in the West.
Denver came into tonight, though, having lost a chippy game to the Houston Rockets on Saturday afternoon, the teams’ second matchup in just 6 days. Peyton Watson returned despite being listed as questionable, giving the Nuggets a much needed defensive presence and additional healthy body. Lauri Markkenen also got the start for the Jazz despite being questionable, but his return wouldn’t be enough as an angry, focused Nuggets team showed why they are a championship contender and the Jazz are not.
1st Quarter
The Nuggets came out seemingly determined to make this a three-quarter game. Nikola Jokic took care of the first 5, adding a block. Watson and Jamal Murray piled on a pair of threes, prompting a quick Jazz timeout as the score raced to 11-0. A PWat run-out, Spencer Jones steal and corner three further ballooned the lead to 16-0. As Murray’s three dropped at the 8:00-minute mark, the route was already on (19-0). Brice Sensabaugh finally broke the spell but was immediately matched by a Murray pull-up three and a Watson steal and dunk, giving the Nuggets their best start to a game in team history.
Two Hardaway threes including a heat-check took the laugher to 32-5 just under halfway through the quarter. Cam Johnson joined the parade of three-point makes followed by Bruce Brown’s transition dunk on a tricky bounce pass from Jok for his 5th assist. After Jalen Pickett skied for a block against Isaiah Collier in the post followed by a second block breaking up a 1v3 transition attempt, the Jazz should probably have tapped out.
2nd Quarter
As Jokic and Murray sat to start the 2nd quarter, this writer decided to bullet-point the rest of the action until/unless the Jazz could get the game back to within 20:
- Cam hit a 3
- Bruce with a steal and middy
- 3rd three for Cam + nice feed to Big Val for a dunk (50-22 with 9 minutes left)
- After a Clayton Jr. three and Ace Bailey dunk in transition cut the Nuggets lead to a mere 50-27, the Nuggets called a timeout to regroup
- Teams traded misses ending with a Jonas put-back tip and Murray’s 12th point on a step-through hook in the post
- Bailey’s 2nd three cut the score to 54-31
- Two additional Murray threes (5/6) preserved the Nuggets 25-point lead with 3 minutes left
- CJ’s 4th and 5th threes wiped out a Nurkic hook, and PWat’s FTs then took the lead to 68-41
- Svi’s trey just before the half got the Jazz to within 22, but not enough to switch the recap style back to sentences and paragraphs
3rd Quarter
The Nuggets fought through an understandable but noticeable drop-off in energy to start the second half but kept the Jazz scorers from mounting a comeback with just enough defense and shot-making.
- Murray’s floater was topped by a George bucket and 3-point Nurkic play, cutting the lead to 71-51
- Mal answered with a jumper and FTs after getting fouled in transition
- Spencer’s shooting woes (1/6, 0/4 3PM) continued from the line as he missed a pair
- Jokic’s third block and 10th assist to a sprinting PWat—giving Jok a triple double—shutdown a small Jazz run
- Cam’s 6th three on as many attempts took the Nuggets lead to 87-60
- Markkanen added 5 straight followed by a George layup in transition, cutting the lead back to 22
- Any attempt at a comeback was again snuffed out immediately starting with a Murray-to-Jokic lob and Mal’s 6th three on 11 attempts
- A trifecta of Utah threes quickly dropped the lead to 96-79, though, prompting a return to formal recapping
After a near 8-second violation, Brown finally answered back with a layup followed by a spectacular Swatson special on Sensabaugh leading to Hardaway’s third triple. Another make from Brown took the lead back to 103-80. The Jazz snuck in a couple just before the quarter ended, including a transition layup on a sloppy turnover, to get the lead back under 20.
4th Quarter
Cam and the reserves started the fourth looking to extend that original 19-0 lead. Val hit a bunny, but a couple of easy baskets for the Jazz briefly cut the lead to 17. Hardaway made his second attempt at a three on the following possession, and then another from the corner. And then another. With the lead now safely back to 26, the Jazz called timeout, and Jokic and Murray started thinking about what to grab for dinner. Cam joined them on winner’s row at the 6:26 mark as the Nuggets led 121-95.
Bruce’s three gave the good guys 23 makes on the night, one off the team record, which was the main reason to watch the rest of the game. Nurkic and Clayton Jr. hit a few garbage-time treys while Val matched with a pair of easy buckets down low and two FTs, at which point Zeke relieved him, too. Pickett’s attempt at the record rimmed off, then Strawther’s turnover and wild driving shot wasted a couple additional opportunities. Utah’s failure to grab the defensive rebound, though, gave Pickett the chance to tie the record, which he did to cap off a solid night running the bench offense.
FINAL SCORE: Utah Jazz 112, Denver Nuggets 135
GAME NOTES:
- The Nuggets are 7-0 after losses this year
- Murray, Johnson, and Hardaway each had 6 threes
- The Nuggets end their homestand 3-1 and will travel to Dallas tomorrow before a Christmas Day showdown against the Wolves
