The Nuggets lost 124-111 to the Jazz on Wednesday night in a game that was never close. They return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena on Friday (8 p.m. MT, ESPN).
Here are three things related to loss.
A lot of work was done especially on defence.
It was arguably the Nuggets’ most disappointing effort of 2023-24 so far, considering they had fresh energy from two days off and an hour’s flight to Utah. The Jazz’s lead reached 25 points during the third quarter, nearly equal to Denver’s largest deficit of the season – but when it was 26, it was against the title-contending Thunder rather than a sub-.500 opponent like Utah. .
It’s not that Jazz isn’t playing well. It entered Wednesday’s matchup having won eight of its last 10, including consecutive road games in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, to firmly establish itself in the mix for play-in tournament qualification.
Still, the Nuggets played like a team with a losing record, except for their first points of the night. His start came when Nikola Jokic grabbed a rebound with one hand and didn’t even get the ball below his shoulders before delivering a full-court outlet pass to Michael Porter Jr. After that transition layup, the starters and bench players looked sluggish while the Jazz ran all over them. Fast break points were 16-2 in the half as Denver allowed 71 points on 61.9% shooting. Utah assisted on 21 of its 26 made baskets in the half.
Out on the outside?
A big part of the Nuggets’ defensive mess was how they defended the perimeter. Their general defensive success this season, as well as last season, has largely depended on limiting opponents’ 3-point attempts. But Utah, which ranks 26th in the league in 3-point percentage (35.1%), took advantage of open looks from beyond the arc to build its huge lead. The Jazz shot 50% from three in the first half and 40.6% for the game.
Jordan Clarkson led Utah with 27 points, while Lauri Markkanen added 26 points, including 12 free throws – evidence of Denver’s uncharacteristically poor discipline.
After a generally disappointing defensive stretch, the Nuggets have been good at defending themselves in the same game. Case in point was Golden State last week, when the Warriors’ 44-point third quarter turned into a spectacular 18-point Nuggets comeback in the fourth quarter. But this time, Michael Malone called all of his timeouts with 5:46 left in the game, and used them all after weak defensive moments. Every time Denver missed a shot, the danger increased on the other end.
Salt Lake Blues continue to court red-hot Jokic
One of the most surprising statistics of Jokic’s career dates back to well before the end of the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era in Utah. The Nuggets have now lost 15 of their last 16 true road games to the Jazz in the 2014–15 season. The next year, Jokic arrived. The Nuggets are 1-12 in Salt Lake City when he plays, with a margin of minus 147 points in those 13 games (an average loss of 11.3 points). His famous seven-man game in 2020 remains Jokic’s only win at the Delta Center.
Even his recent increase in shooting efficiency couldn’t save Denver. Center did not miss a single shot from the field for several minutes in the third quarter. He finished the night with 8 of 9 from the field (27 points, 11 rebounds), bringing his shooting total to 83% (62 of 75) over the last seven games.
He also contributed to six of the team’s 16 turnovers in a game when Denver only tallied 27 assists.
The Nuggets will get another chance in Utah this season, but not until April 9 in their 79th game of the regular season.
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