Jazz Fall to Nuggets Due To Poor Fourth Quarter
Nov 3, 2018, 9:53 PM | Updated: Nov 4, 2018, 5:05 pm
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 03: Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets drives to the basket against Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center on November 3, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, Colo. – The Utah Jazz lost their third straight game in a 103-88 defeat to the Denver Nuggets.
Holding a five-point lead going into the final period, the Jazz’s shooting went cold. They were outscored 35-15 by the Nuggets in the fourth quarter, on just 4-of-17 shooting.
“I think we competed in the fourth quarter but the score didn’t reflect it,” said head coach Quin Snyder.
Mitchell Leaves Game Briefly
Jae Crowder was a bright spot for the Jazz, scoring 21 points off the bench with four 3-pointers made. Rudy Gobert finished with his eight double-double in nine games with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
After sitting out Friday’s game with hamstring soreness, Donovan Mitchell was back in the starting lineup for Saturday. Unfortunately the injury bug struck again as the star guard went down with an apparent lower leg injury with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. He had to be assisted to the locker room. He returned to the game a few minutes later with a re-taped ankle but was unable to spark a Jazz comeback. He finished with 16 points on 7-for-22 shooting.
Donovan Mitchell had his left ankle re-taped and is available to return
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 4, 2018
The starting backcourt for Denver combined for 39 points. Jamal Murray had 19 points and Garry Harris added 20 to lead the Nuggets. Although he was held under double-digits with just seven points, Nikola Jokic finished with a double-double with 16 and 10 rebounds.
Snyder Feels Better About The Defense
Despite the 15-point loss, Snyder felt like the Jazz had made strides towards playing like the defensive powerhouse they were expected to be.
“Tonight I thought we were better defensively,” said Snyder. “We were focused on trying to play the way that we that we’ve worked and who we are.”
Next Up
The Jazz will return to Vivint SmartHome Arena for a three game homestand beginning with a showdown against the Toronto Raptors Monday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.
