Nuggets Hang On Against Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY -- Ty Lawson had 15 points and made a double-pump jumper to beat the shot clock with 29.6 seconds left that boosted the Denver Nuggets over the Utah Jazz 103-101 in a charged atmosphere Monday night.
The game heated up after Arron Afflalo was ejected and the Jazz stormed back from a 22-point deficit to tie the game in the final minutes.
Lawson, who also had 12 assists, made the game-winner from the left wing between two Jazz defenders.
Gordon Hayward was blocked and Trey Burke missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer on the other end before Darrell Arthur clinched the game with two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining. Alec Burks dunk at the buzzer completing the scoring.
Wilson Chandler scored 10, Afflalo had 14 and Arthur added 12 for the Nuggets, who have won eight of their last 10 games.
Hayward scored 25 points, Burks had 22 and Burke chipped in 18, but Utah's losing streak hit six games -- the longest skid since March 10-19 last season.
Trailing 90-86, Burks was driving full-speed to the basket midway through the fourth quarter when Afflalo clotheslined the Jazz guard. The hard foul sparked a shoving match with Enes Kanter at the center of it all protecting Burks, who was already nursing a sore shoulder.
After a lengthy officials' conference, Afflalo was ejected for a flagrant-two foul for hitting Burks in the side of the head. Afflalo and Burks pointed at each other and exchanged words before he left the court.
The Nuggets were rolling along with an 80-67 lead late in the third quarter before the Jazz extended their defense and ran at every opportunity. Utah caught Denver at 83-83 on a thunderous alley-oop jam by Rudy Gobert.
Denver led 24-23 late in the first quarter before going on a 22-4 run. Darrell Arthur had two 3-pointers to fuel the run and then J.J. Hickson capped the surge with a three-point play to make it 46-27 with 6:45 before halftime.
The Nuggets flummoxed the Jazz on both sides of the court for most of the game. Denver used quick passing and pinpoint shooting to complement pressure defense that forced Utah out of its preferred sets and into 11 first-half turnovers.
Without defensive anchor Derrick Favors, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms, the Jazz looked powerless to stop the Nuggets forays to the basket until Gobert asserted himself and sparked the Jazz comeback.
Denver's resurgence has been based on improved defense. The Nuggets improved to 7-0 when holding opponents to 101 points or less and appear to be an entirely different team than the one that lost six straight in early November.
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TIP-INS
Nuggets: Guard Randy Foye was diagnosed with a right quad tear earlier Monday and may miss a few weeks. . The Nuggets reserves outscored the Jazz bench 29-4 in the first half and 38-13 for the game. . Denver won the opening tip and Lawson immediate passed to Faried for a tone-setting dunk.
Jazz: Favors, who had played in every game this season and averages 15.9 points and 8.6 rebounds, left Monday's shootaround with a cold that worsened as the day progressed. . Gary Briggs was assessed a technical foul as he ran onto the court during the fracas to attend to Burks before time was called. . The Jazz had 15 fast-break points to just 3 for Denver.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Portland on Tuesday.
Jazz: Host Toronto on Wednesday.
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