Jazz Unable To Close Out Nuggets In Final Minutes, Suffer Fifth Consecutive Loss
Feb 5, 2020, 10:05 PM | Updated: Feb 6, 2020, 12:42 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz were unable to close out a victory during the final minutes of play and fell to the Denver Nuggets. The result was the fifth straight loss by the Jazz.
The Jazz hosted the Nuggets at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Wednesday, February 5. It was the second meeting of the season between the two franchises.
After Donovan Mitchell hit a 20-foot pullup jumper to give the Jazz a 95-91 lead with 3:20 left to play, Utah committed four turnovers in the final 2:36 of play and allowed the Nuggets to close the game on a 7-0 run for a 98-95 win.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 6, 2020
“Everybody’s got to do their job defensively and then we’ve got to move the ball better,” said Jazz head coach Quin Snyder after the game. “Sometimes that means attacking early in a pick-and-roll situation, having your eyes out, and being disciplined with the ball. So it’s not one end. It’s just collectively… There’s not one thing you point that you point to. Both ends affect each other. When we get a stop and don’t get a rebound we lose an opportunity to score. Then seven turnovers in the fourth quarter… crucial times. It’s a collective awareness and a collective sense of urgency.”
The Jazz turned the ball over seven times during the fourth quarter while the Nuggets committed zero over the final 12 minutes of play.
Utah held a 57-49 advantage at halftime but was outscored by 11 points in the second half.
Dismayed By Denver
The Nuggets only played seven players against the Jazz with players out due to injury and a recently completed trade.
Denver guard Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 31 points on 12-26 shooting including 4-9 from three. He added 2 rebounds and 4 assists in 43 minutes. Murray missed the first meeting of the season when Denver beat Utah 106-100 on January 30.
Nuggets all-star center Nikola Jokić dominated the game and posted a triple-double with 30 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jokić shot 14-24 on field goals. He recorded a team-high plus-minus rating of +10 in 40 minutes.
The Nuggets finished the game shooting 43.3 percent overall despite going 23.3 percent from behind the arc.
Conley Connecting
Utah shot 41.9 percent on field goals and 35.9 percent from three.
Mike Conley led the Jazz in scoring with 21 points on 6-13 shooting. He shot 5-9 from downtown. Conley added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal in 34 minutes.
Mike's got 5 three-pointers 🏔🏔🏔🏔🏔#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/OiBusoEgLe
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 6, 2020
Jazz all-star guard Donovan Mitchell struggled against the Nuggets defense for the second time this season. Mitchell scored 18 points on 8-24 shooting including 2-9 from downtown.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 6, 2020
He added 8 rebounds and an assist in 36 minutes. Mitchell committed a team-high four turnovers on the night.
Utah all-star center Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes. Gobert shot 7-10 on field goals. He recorded one block against the Nuggets.
try, try again pic.twitter.com/K2NjTBdYqs
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 6, 2020
Jordan Clarkson led Utah’s second unit with 16 points off of the bench.
Up Next
The Jazz have suffered five consecutive losses including two losses to Denver.
Utah looks to get back in the win column when it hosts the Portland Trailblazers on Friday, February 7 at 8:30 p.m. (MDT). The game will be televised on ESPN.
