SALT LAKE CITY — The first 51 seconds of the second half perfectly captured how the Denver Nuggets’ night against the Utah Jazz unraveled so quickly.
A Nuggets defensive breakdown left Utah’s Jonas Jerebko wide open for the go-ahead 3-pointer. On Denver’s next possession, Gary Harris stepped out of bounds to give the ball right back to the Jazz.
Those Denver miscues led to a Jazz second-half onslaught, flipping a back-and-forth contest into a 106-77 rout Tuesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
“They did whatever they wanted,” coach Michael Malone said. “We were completely outplayed … just an awful, embarrassing night for the Denver Nuggets.”
Utah outscored Denver 58-28 in the second half, resulting in the Nuggets’ lowest point total of the season. Denver’s road woes continued, falling to 3-7 away from the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets also finish the 2017-18 season 0-2 at the home of their division-rival Jazz, after collapsing in the second half of last month’s season opener.
And though Denver was missing all-star power forward Paul Millsap (wrist surgery) and fellow starter Wilson Chandler (lower back pain), Utah rolled with two-way star Rudy Gobert, leading scorer Rodney Hood and key reserve Joe Johnson all sidelined due to injuries.
Even without Gobertap elite interior defensive presence, Utah’s physical approach still forced the Nuggets (11-9) into 18 turnovers that the Jazz converted into 28 points. And even when Denver did not give away possessions, it finished with its second-lowest shooting percentage of the season (35.9), including a 7-of-34 mark from 3-point distance.
“Obviously, this is nothing new,” Malone said of his team that still ranks last in opponent points off turnovers (21.3). “For 20 games now, turnovers have been an issue … some of them are comical, if you watch them.”
The Jazz began the third quarter on a 20-6 run to turn a 49-48 halftime deficit into a 13-point advantage. Jerebko connected on two of his three 3-pointers during the stretch, while Derrick Favors finished twice inside and Ricky Rubio scored five points. The final period was a 30-11 Utah barrage to stretch its lead to as many as 31 points, with Denver finally surpassing double digits in the quarter when Malik Beasley hit a jumper with less than 20 seconds remaining.
“They just turned it up on another level, and we were not even close,” said Denver center Nikola Jokic, who totaled six rebounds and six assists but went just 3-of-7 from the floor for seven points. “They (took advantage of) every mistake.”
Jokic was outdueled inside by Favors, who finished with 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. Harris scored 14 first-half points for Denver but went 2-of-9 from the floor and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc after the break. The Jazz, meanwhile, made 14 of its 32 3-pointers, another pregame key from Malone that his team failed to execute.
Malone was surprised by the sharp downturn, calling the Nuggets’ two practices during their three-day layoff between games “great.” But the result left veteran big man Mason Plumlee questioning his team’s effort and leadership.
“Somebody’s got to step forward and kind of be a voice and get on people,” Plumlee said. “It can’t just be from the staff. We’ve got to take ownership internally and deal with it …
“It has to change if we want to make this season worthwhile. Itap gotta happen.”
Much has changed for the Nuggets and Jazz between Game 1 and Game 20. But much also stayed the same Tuesday night.
Denver consistently coughed the ball up to the Jazz. It folded in the second half. And it left Salt Lake City with a double-digit loss.
“We’re gonna watch a lot of film tomorrow, and guys are not gonna like what they see,” Malone said. “But they have to see it. We have to get ready for Chicago to try to get this bad taste out of our mouth.”
