Agbaji scores 28, rallies Jazz past Nuggets 118-114
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 118-114 victory over the Western Conference leading Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Luka Samanic finished with a career-high 23 points and eight rebounds for Utah. Kris Dunn chipped in 19 points, a season-high 14 assists and eight rebounds. Simone Fontecchio added 15 points.
The Jazz snapped a four-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 10 games. Their zone defense limited the Nuggets to 35 total shots in the paint. Utah, on the other hand, scored 32 baskets in the paint.
“We did a good job tonight making Denver play a type of game they don’t want to play,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “We wanted them to play over the top of us if they were going to beat us.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 21 points for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray added 20 points and five assists. Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 15 points apiece. Nikola Jokic tallied 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Denver lost for the fifth time in six games.
“We started off very slow, but we picked it up second quarter and end of the third quarter,” Caldwell-Pope said. “For us to start that way, we can’t come out slow like that.”
After trailing the entire first half, Denver surged ahead late in the third quarter. Caldwell-Pope buried back-to-back 3s to spark a 19-4 run that gave the Nuggets a 95-87 lead. Murray and Gordon punctuated the decisive run with two more outside baskets.
Utah rallied in the fourth quarter with Denver’s starters on the bench. Agbaji scored three baskets to key a 10-1 run that put the Jazz up 116-110 in the final minute.
He bounced back from a tough outing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday by putting together one of his best rookie season performances on Saturday – with his family in attendance.
“I just feel like after the last game, I had to kind of show them something a little bit more,” Agbaji said.
Agbaji also lit a fire under the Jazz offense in the first quarter. He made five baskets and scored 12 points overall to help Utah sprint out to a 26-8 lead.
Denver struggled out of the gates. The Nuggets missed seven of their first eight shots and committed four turnovers in the first six minutes to fall behind by double digits.
“Horrendous start to the game,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “We just kind of showed up but give Utah credit because they built a 19-point lead early on.”
Denver nearly erased the deficit late in the second quarter. Jokic made a layup and assisted two other baskets to fuel a 12-0 run that cut Utah’s lead to 54-53 in the final minute before halftime.
The Nuggets took their first lead of the game early in the third quarter when Porter buried a 3-pointer to put Denver up 61-58.
FALSE START The opening moments of the game turned into a comedy of errors.
Jokic committed a loose ball foul on the opening tip. Agbaji immediately countered with a turnover when he tried to hand the ball to Dunn instead of throwing an inbound pass.
“Weird way to start off the game, but it was fine,” Agbaji said.
TIP INS
Nuggets: Jokic was held to six points on 2-of-5 shooting. … Caldwell-Pope blocked two shots, matching a season-high, and went 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
Jazz: Micah Potter finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds – both career highs. … Dunn had three steals, matching his season high. … Only nine Utah players dressed for the game.
UP NEXT
Nuggets host the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Jazz visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
12:00 | Nikola Jokic personal foul (Loose ball) (Udoka Azubuike draws the foul) | |||
12:00 | Ochai Agbaji turnover (inbound) | |||
11:45 | Kris Dunn personal foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | |||
11:38 | Jamal Murray misses three point jump shot | |||
11:35 | Udoka Azubuike defensive rebound | |||
11:25 | Kris Dunn misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | |||
11:23 | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | |||
11:12 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
11:09 | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | |||
10:57 | Ochai Agbaji misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
10:54 | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | |||
10:47 | Nikola Jokic turnover (bad pass) (Luka Samanic steals) | |||
10:43 | +2 | Luka Samanic makes two point alley-oop dunk (Kris Dunn assists) | 0-2 | |
10:21 | Nikola Jokic turnover (lost ball) (Kris Dunn steals) | |||
10:16 | +2 | Ochai Agbaji makes two point driving layup (Kris Dunn assists) | 0-4 | |
10:03 | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point alley-oop dunk (Nikola Jokic assists) | 2-4 | |
9:47 | +3 | Ochai Agbaji makes three point jump shot (Juan Toscano-Anderson assists) | 2-7 | |
9:35 | Jamal Murray turnover (bad pass) (Juan Toscano-Anderson steals) | |||
9:30 | +2 | Luka Samanic makes two point layup (Juan Toscano-Anderson assists) | 2-9 | |
9:13 | Aaron Gordon misses two point jump shot | |||
9:11 | Luka Samanic defensive rebound | |||
9:03 | Kris Dunn misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
9:01 | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | |||
8:55 | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
8:53 | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | |||
8:47 | Juan Toscano-Anderson misses three point jump shot | |||
8:43 | Udoka Azubuike offensive rebound | |||
8:43 | +2 | Udoka Azubuike makes two point hook shot | 2-11 | |
8:43 | Aaron Gordon shooting foul (Udoka Azubuike draws the foul) | |||
8:43 | Udoka Azubuike misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
8:42 | Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound | |||
8:35 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope misses three point jump shot | |||
8:31 | Kris Dunn defensive rebound | |||
8:23 | Ochai Agbaji misses three point jump shot | |||
8:21 | Ochai Agbaji offensive rebound | |||
8:20 | +2 | Ochai Agbaji makes two point driving layup | 2-13 | |
8:20 | Michael Porter Jr. shooting foul (Ochai Agbaji draws the foul) | |||
8:20 | +1 | Ochai Agbaji makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 2-14 | |
8:05 | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
8:02 | Ochai Agbaji defensive rebound | |||
7:56 | Udoka Azubuike offensive foul (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope draws the foul) | |||
7:56 | Udoka Azubuike turnover (offensive foul) | |||
7:38 | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
7:35 | Luka Samanic defensive rebound | |||
7:16 | Jamal Murray shooting foul (Luka Samanic draws the foul) | |||
7:16 | Luka Samanic misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
7:16 | Jazz offensive rebound | |||
7:16 | +1 | Luka Samanic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-15 | |
7:03 | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point alley-oop dunk (Nikola Jokic assists) | 4-15 | |
6:50 | +2 | Kris Dunn makes two point floating jump shot | 4-17 | |
6:38 | Nikola Jokic turnover (bad pass) (Luka Samanic steals) | |||
6:34 | +2 | Ochai Agbaji makes two point running dunk (Kris Dunn assists) | 4-19 | |
6:12 | +3 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes three point jump shot (Jamal Murray assists) | 7-19 | |
5:58 | +2 | Ochai Agbaji makes two point cutting layup (Juan Toscano-Anderson assists) | 7-21 | |
5:40 | Michael Porter Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
5:39 | Aaron Gordon offensive rebound | |||
5:37 | Jamal Murray misses three point jump shot | |||
5:34 | Udoka Azubuike defensive rebound | |||
5:25 | Udoka Azubuike misses two point floating jump shot | |||
5:23 | Nuggets defensive rebound | |||
5:23 | Jazz 60 second timeout | |||
5:08 | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | |||
5:05 | Simone Fontecchio defensive rebound | |||
4:53 | Luka Samanic turnover (bad pass) (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope steals) | |||
4:47 | Nikola Jokic misses two point floating jump shot | |||
4:44 | Simone Fontecchio defensive rebound | |||
4:38 | +3 | Simone Fontecchio makes three point jump shot (Juan Toscano-Anderson assists) | 7-24 | |
4:22 | Jazz technical foul (Defensive three second) | |||
4:22 | +1 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 8-24 | |
4:14 | Reggie Jackson turnover (bad pass) (Kris Dunn steals) | |||
4:10 | +2 | Kris Dunn makes two point running layup | 8-26 | |
3:50 | Juan Toscano-Anderson shooting foul (Nikola Jokic draws the foul) | |||
3:50 | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 9-26 | |
3:50 | +1 | Nikola Jokic makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 10-26 | |
3:37 | Kris Dunn turnover (bad pass) (Christian Braun steals) | |||
3:34 | Simone Fontecchio shooting foul (Christian Braun draws the foul) | |||
3:34 | Christian Braun misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
3:34 | Nuggets offensive rebound | |||
3:34 | +1 | Christian Braun makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 11-26 | |
3:24 | +2 | Simone Fontecchio makes two point stepback jump shot | 11-28 | |
3:14 | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | |||
3:10 | Jazz defensive rebound | |||
2:54 | Johnny Juzang misses three point jump shot | |||
2:50 | Nikola Jokic defensive rebound | |||
2:46 | Jeff Green offensive foul (Charge) (Micah Potter draws the foul) | |||
2:46 | Jeff Green turnover (offensive foul) | |||
2:46 | Nuggets 60 second timeout | |||
2:32 | Simone Fontecchio turnover (traveling) | |||
2:19 | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point layup (Jamal Murray assists) | 13-28 | |
2:19 | Simone Fontecchio shooting foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | |||
2:19 | Aaron Gordon misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
2:17 | Micah Potter defensive rebound | |||
2:05 | Ochai Agbaji misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
2:01 | Micah Potter offensive rebound | |||
1:59 | Johnny Juzang misses three point jump shot | |||
1:56 | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | |||
1:48 | Micah Potter shooting foul (Aaron Gordon draws the foul) | |||
1:48 | +1 | Aaron Gordon makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-28 | |
1:48 | +1 | Aaron Gordon makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 15-28 | |
1:36 | Ochai Agbaji turnover (lost ball) (Christian Braun steals) | |||
1:30 | Christian Braun misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
1:28 | Micah Potter defensive rebound | |||
1:27 | Micah Potter turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | |||
1:19 | +2 | Aaron Gordon makes two point driving layup | 17-28 | |
1:05 | +2 | Damian Jones makes two point dunk (Simone Fontecchio assists) | 17-30 | |
0:49 | +2 | Jeff Green makes two point driving layup | 19-30 | |
0:34 | +2 | Johnny Juzang makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Ochai Agbaji assists) | 19-32 | |
0:25 | Jeff Green misses three point jump shot | |||
0:23 | Micah Potter defensive rebound | |||
0:06 | Micah Potter misses three point jump shot | |||
0:03 | Aaron Gordon defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
11:53 | Jamal Murray misses three point pullup jump shot | |||
11:49 | Udoka Azubuike defensive rebound | |||
11:34 | Jeff Green blocks Ochai Agbaji's two point stepback jump shot | |||
11:31 | Reggie Jackson defensive rebound | |||
11:23 | Simone Fontecchio kicked ball violation | |||
11:17 | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | |||
11:13 | Simone Fontecchio defensive rebound | |||
11:05 | +3 | Micah Potter makes three point jump shot (Simone Fontecchio assists) | 19-35 | |
10:56 | Simone Fontecchio kicked ball violation | |||
10:49 | Reggie Jackson misses two point floating jump shot | |||
10:47 | Micah Potter defensive rebound | |||
10:37 | +3 | Ochai Agbaji makes three point jump shot (Simone Fontecchio assists) | 19-38 | |
10:26 | Christian Braun misses three point jump shot | |||
10:23 | Jeff Green offensive rebound | |||
10:15 | +3 | Reggie Jackson makes three point jump shot (Jeff Green assists) | 22-38 | |
10:02 | Simone Fontecchio offensive foul (Christian Braun draws the foul) | |||
10:02 | Simone Fontecchio turnover (offensive foul) | |||
9:52 | Jazz technical foul (Defensive three second) | |||
9:52 | +1 | Jamal Murray makes technical free throw 1 of 1 | 23-38 | |
9:44 | +3 | Jamal Murray makes three point jump shot (Reggie Jackson assists) | 26-38 | |
9:32 | Johnny Juzang misses two point pullup jump shot | |||
9:29 | Christian Braun defensive rebound | |||
9:15 | +2 | Jamal Murray makes two point stepback jump shot | 28-38 | |
9:00 | Ochai Agbaji misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
8:59 | Reggie Jackson defensive rebound | |||
8:54 | +2 | Reggie Jackson makes two point running reverse layup | 30-38 | |
8:54 | Jazz 60 second timeout | |||
8:34 | Johnny Juzang misses three point jump shot | |||
8:30 | Johnny Juzang offensive rebound | |||
8:28 | +3 | Micah Potter makes three point jump shot (Luka Samanic assists) | 30-41 | |
8:06 | Reggie Jackson misses three point jump shot | |||
8:04 | Udoka Azubuike defensive rebound | |||
7:43 | Johnny Juzang misses two point turnaround jump shot | |||
7:40 | Christian Braun defensive rebound | |||
7:32 | Udoka Azubuike shooting foul (Jeff Green draws the foul) | |||
7:32 | Jeff Green misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
7:32 | Nuggets offensive rebound | |||
7:32 | +1 | Jeff Green makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 31-41 | |
7:21 | Juan Toscano-Anderson misses two point driving floating jump shot | |||
7:20 |