National Basketball Association
Utah 123, Denver 102
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #34 Kevin Cutler, #7 Lauren Holtkamp
Attendance: 18206

Collin Sexton scored 20 points and Lauri Markkanen added 17 as the Utah Jazz earned a stunning 123-102 season-opening win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Seven different Utah players scored in double figures to help this new era of Jazz basketball begin with a surprising victory. The Jazz had a wild offseason, which included trading away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, among others, and hiring Will Hardy as head coach after Quin Snyder's resignation.

Three of only five returning Jazz players were among those to reach double digits, including Rudy Gay (16), Mike Conley (13 points, eight assists) and Jordan Clarkson (10 points). Malik Beasley (15 points), Walker Kessler (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Jarred Vanderbilt (12 rebounds) also had strong Jazz debuts.

Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 27 points and Aaron Gordon chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who could never recover after falling behind by as many as 24 points in the first half.

Back from injuries, Michael Porter Jr. scored 15 and Jamal Murray netted 12 points in the defeat.

Gordon began the game with a steal and a slam and then put Denver up 9-4 with a layup and another dunk.

Kelly Olynyk and Conley hit consecutive 3s shortly after as the Jazz took their first lead at 13-11. Utah continued to play strong and took a double-digit lead later in the quarter before settling for a 37-30 lead after the first 12 minutes.

The lead quickly grew to a surprising 21-point advantage as the Jazz scored the first 14 points of the second quarter, including seven points from Gay.

Utah's lead expanded to 24, 68-44, in the second quarter on a 3 by Sexton.

As expected, Denver trimmed Utah's lead in the third quarter, opening the second half with a 7-0 run and then pulling within 10, 81-71. Kessler hit a bucket to stop the Nuggets' surge and help the Jazz take a 94-80 lead into the final stanza.

The Nuggets pulled within seven, 105-98, with 5:35 remaining. The Jazz responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Gay and Beasley for a 111-98 lead at the 4:51 mark.

It was all Jazz down the stretch.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Utah
Nikola Jokic 27 Scoring Collin Sexton 20
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 6 Assists Mike Conley 8
Aaron Gordon 10 Rebounds Jarred Vanderbilt 12
Bones Hyland 3 Free Throws Made Collin Sexton 7
Nikola Jokic 3 Steals Mike Conley 2
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 1 Blocks Mike Conley 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 102 48.2 5-22 17-18 21 35 3 10 21
Utah 123 50.6 16-38 23-31 27 43 1 10 20
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Jazz have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Golden State. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.