THE Utah Jazz were able to pull off an upset to the fiery Denver Nuggets who have the second-best record in the West this season with the score of 111-104. This snapped a five-game winning streak by the Nuggets since February 11.
Five Jazz players scored the double digits this game. Second year guard Donovan Mitchell got 24 points, 5 assists, and 8 boards. Veteran guard and sharpshooter Kyle Korver exploded for 22 points. Center Rudy Gobert scored 16 points and 8 rebounds. And forwards Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors notched 15 points and a double-double in rebounds (Favors) and assists (Ingles).
The Nuggets also have five players who scored in double digits. This was led by forward Will Barton who got 21 points and 13 rebounds, getting a double-double. In addition, guard Jamal Murray also got 21 points. All-Star center Nikola Jokic got a double-double of 16 points and 13 boards. Forward Paul Millsap scored 15 and center Mason Plumlee got 11 points and nine rebounds.
The first quarter was a hot start for the Nuggets, scoring 22 points against the Jazz who got 19. However, the second quarter would be the kryptonite for the Nuggets as they turned the ball six times and only connected 5-22 from the field. The Jazz took advantage of this and slowly built their lead, outscoring the Nuggets with 33-15. Going into the half, the score was 52-37 with the Jazz having a 15-point lead.
Yet the third would be a redemption ground for the Nuggets as they managed to cut the deficit into half with Barton leading the charge.
Barton scored 13 in the quarter with four successive buckets in just 17 seconds. With 44.8 seconds left in the third, Barton managed to cut the lead into 77-70. Yet Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell provided some clutch plays with a buzzer beater three and a pair of free throws to give the Jazz a double-digit lead going into the final 12 minutes of the game.
The Nuggets were completely buried by the Jazz with an unstoppable barrage of three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Sharpshooter and veteran Kyle Korver drilled 3 three-pointers near the halfway mark o the quarter.
In addition, Mitchell added another one with 6:17 left in the game to give the Jazz an 18-point lead. The three-point bombs from the Jazz proved fatal to the Nuggets and ended the game with 111-104.
The Jazz knocked a total of 16 three-pointers this game while the Nuggets only knocked seven.
The Jazz bump their record to 35-26 this season while the Nuggets struggle to maintain the second position in the West with 42-19. (Jayvee Gulfan, USC intern)