In the previous Nuggets-Jazz matchup on opening night, Utah had Carlos Boozer. On Sunday, Boozer was out due to knee surgery. Nene didn’t mind.
In Sunday’s 117-97 Denver victory, the Nuggets center finished with 28 points (tying a career high) and nine rebounds, after an 11-point, four-board outing in the opener. Nene was aggressive Sunday, crashing into defenders as though they were minor nuisances en route to a dunk or three. He was an astounding 12-for-12 from the field, tying a franchise record (Bobby Jones in 1978).
Meanwhile, the prophets in Nuggets jerseys often lifted their arms before the shots even left J.R. Smith’s hands. Sure enough, the shots often splashed, and the referee lifted his arms, too. The Nuggets and their fans sensed the same thing — that J.R. was in one of his J.R. zones — and the Nuggets kept feeding him the ball. Smith scored 16 points in the first half and finished with 22 on efficient 8-for-14 shooting.
It was an ideal night for Smith to ascend, in a division matchup against the defending division champs. Denver (29-15) is 4 1/2 games ahead of Utah (25-20) and 2 1/2 ahead of Portland (26-17) in the Northwest Division.
But it was Denver’s outside shooting that buried the Jazz. After three quarters, Denver was 8-for-20 from 3-point range, including three 3s from Smith.
The Nuggets evened the season series with their division nemesis, with two crucial matchups left — at Utah on March 6 and back at the Pepsi Center on April 2.
