National Basketball Association
Utah 118, Denver 114
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 8, 2023
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #26 Pat Fraher, #72 JT Orr
Attendance: 18206

Rookie Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 28 points, and the Utah Jazz concluded their home slate with a 118-114 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.

Kris Dunn finished with 19 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds, Luka Samanic added 23 points and eight rebounds and Simone Fontecchio contributed 15 points to help the Jazz (37-44) snap a four-game losing streak.

The Jazz, who blew a 19-point lead and then overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, played without seven regulars: Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Kelly Olynyk, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker and Rudy Gay.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points and Jamal Murray netted 20 in the loss for Denver (52-29), which had already clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the Western Conference.

Nikola Jokic had 10 rebounds, 10 assists and six points in 27 minutes, while Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. each scored 15 points.

Utah trailed 102-93 when it rallied to make it a one-point game with under five minutes remaining.

The Jazz regained the lead at 110-109 after Juan Toscano-Anderson hit a pair of free throws at the 2:42 mark.

Agbaji followed with two buckets, then clinched the win with two free throws with 11 seconds left as Utah won for just the second time in 10 games. The Jazz outscored the Nuggets 25-12 in the final 8 1/2 minutes.

Agbaji scored 11 quick points to help the Jazz jump out to a 19-4 lead. Utah took its biggest lead at 38-19 after Agbaji and Micah Potter (10 points, 10 rebounds) drained consecutive threes.

Early in the second quarter, Reggie Jackson and Murray teamed for 11 straight points for the Nuggets. The Jazz rebuilt their lead to 13 before Denver stormed back with a 12-0 run late in the first half.

Samanic beat the horn with a layup to give the Jazz a 58-55 halftime lead.

The Nuggets hit two threes to open the second half and take their first lead at 61-58. Denver scored 40 points in the third quarter on its way to a 95-89 edge heading into the fourth quarter.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Utah
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 21 Scoring Ochai Agbaji 28
Nikola Jokic 10 Assists Kris Dunn 14
Nikola Jokic 10 Rebounds Udoka Azubuike 11
Christian Braun 4 Free Throws Made Kris Dunn 7
Christian Braun 3 Steals Kris Dunn 3
Peyton Watson 3 Blocks Udoka Azubuike 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 114 45.6 15-46 17-24 32 41 9 7 14
Utah 118 44.0 11-35 19-23 30 59 2 9 16
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Jazz have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .467 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .642 after a win and .643 after a loss.