by Kimya Oliver
The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 108-104.
The Crossover: Utah Jazz by the Numbers
Bojan Bogdanovic made an inside pass to Royce O’Neale for the finger roll layup to start the game.
Monte Morris went for a floater but Mike Conley was able get the block. Conley brought the ball up the court, got a screen from Udoka Azubuike, then made a skip pass to the corner to Trent Forrest for the three-pointer.
The Jazz opened the first quarter on an 11-4 run. The Nuggets managed to come back and tie the game 19-19 with 3:30 left in the quarter. The Nuggets gained a 30-25 lead and ended the quarter leading 30-28.
The Nuggets opened the second quarter on an 11-7 run. Azubuike gave Conley a screen to open the lane for the left-handed layup. Eric Paschall drove to the basket and made a quick corner pass to Elijah Hughes for the corner three to cut the Nuggets’ lead to 41-38.
Rudy Gay made a quick cut to the basket for the easy layup, but couldn’t sink the following free throw after being fouled on the shot.
Gay snatched a defensive rebound to make a lead pass to Jared Butler for the tough layup with 2:30 left in the second quarter. Gay then went coast to coast, grabbing another defensive rebound and making a slam dunk on the other end. The Jazz trailed 61-60 after the first half.
Forrest sank a jump shot to start the third quarter. Butler drove to the basket for a difficult layup to give the Jazz a three-point lead.
Forrest drove to the basket for the dunk to extend the Jazz lead to 76-71, but the Nuggets answered by making a jump shot to cut the lead back down to three points with 2:36 left in the quarter. Conley came up with the steal and let it fly from three to end the third quarter to put the Jazz in front by the score of 82-79.
Traveling: No Place Like Home
Butler drove to the basket for an easy layup to open the fourth quarter.
The game continued to be close as the Jazz continued to hold the lead halfway through the fourth quarter. They led the Nuggets 91-87.
Off a bad pass, O’Neale came up with the steal and drove for the basket for the left-handed layup. The Jazz continued to get steal after steal.
Conley recorded his second steal of the night but missed the layup. However, he grabbed the offensive rebound and found Gay inside the paint for the easy layup. The Jazz maintained the lead by a close 99-97 advantage with 3:36 left in the ball game. They held on to end the five game losing streak.
The Daily Double-Double
Forrest led the Jazz with 18 points and Conley ended with 17 points, five assists, and four steals.
Azubuike and Gay were fairly close to a double-double. Gay was a rebound shy and Azubuike was just two points shy. Stay tuned as we await Gobert’s return so we can go on double-double watch on a nightly basis.
Bounce Pass: Up Next
The Jazz will be facing the Brooklyn Nets on February 4 at 7 p.m. MST.
Featured image courtesy Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News