The Sports Xchange
Nov 29, 2017
SALT LAKE CITY -- Derrick Favors scored 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting and collected nine rebounds to spearhead a balanced offensive effort as the Utah Jazz ran away for a 106-77 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
Donovan Mitchell scored 16 points and Jonas Jerebko added 15 for the Jazz. Utah (10-11) won its third straight game after holding the Nuggets to only 28 second-half points, a season-low for a Jazz opponent. Six players scored in double figures for Utah.
Gary Harris had 18 points to lead Denver while Kenneth Faried added 11 points and eight rebounds. The Nuggets (11-9) fell to the Jazz for a second time this season after coughing up 18 turnovers, which led to 28 points for Utah.
The Nuggets used a 10-0 run to stake out a 19-12 first-quarter lead over the Jazz. Juancho Hernangomez and Nikola Jokic fueled the run with a pair of 3-pointers and Jamal Murray finished it off with a jumper.
Utah got a lift from its second unit and surged back in front behind a 14-3 run. Thabo Sefolosha took a steal in for a dunk and Alec Burks turned another steal into a layup on back-to-back possessions to cap the spurt. Their baskets gave the Jazz a 26-22 lead.
Denver and Utah traded baskets through the second quarter before the Jazz broke the game open by starting the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Jerebko and Joe Ingles bookended the run with 3-pointers to give Utah a 58-49 lead.
The Jazz eventually built up a 15-point lead before the end of the quarter, going up 76-61 when Ekpe Udoh spiked a rebound to Burks and he dialed up a 3-pointer.
Utah stepped on the gas pedal to open the fourth quarter. The Jazz went on a 21-6 run, culminating in 3-pointers on three straight possessions from Royce O'Neale and Mitchell. Mitchell's second 3-pointer finished off the run and gave Utah a 97-72 lead midway through the quarter.
NOTES: Jazz G Rodney Hood did not play because of ankle soreness. Hood missed two games earlier this season with a calf strain. ... Nuggets F Wilson Chandler did not play for the second time in four games because of lower back pain. ... Utah had 18 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds while limiting Denver to seven second-chance points on 12 offensive boards. ... C Nikola Jokic, Denver's leading scorer, managed only seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. ... Jazz F Royce O'Neale scored a career-high 11 points, his first NBA game in double figures.