The fourth quarter was reserved for more valuable development time for Denver’s promising rookies, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” “It’s more about continuing to build good habits. “It’s not so much about motivation,” Gordon said. Considering that Denver’s starters all played three quarters, there’s no telling what Sunday’s depth chart might look like. And I heard a long time ago, there’s two types of people, those who like to win and those who hate to lose.”ĭenver ends its regular season on Sunday, at home against Sacramento, in front of their fans. “… The moment you think that losing is OK, it’s just another game, that starts to seep into who you are, the essence of who you are. “Maybe I’m just wired a little differently, man, I’m (ticked) off right now,” Malone said. Nuggets coach Michael Malone, owing to Utah’s 59 rebounds and dominance in the paint, was disgusted. The Nuggets finished the road portion of the regular season with a 118-114 loss, dropping their record to 52-29. Yet the decision to trot out their regular starters suggested otherwise.Ī slow, disconcerting start gave way to a more promising finish even if Denver’s reserves faltered in the fourth quarter. Technically, the Nuggets didn’t have anything to play for Saturday afternoon, having already clinched the No. Those two will need to have some of their best performances of the season to get the Jazz a win, but it’s definitely not out of the question given how they’ve been heating up.SALT LAKE CITY – Motivation can be a cruel and fickle mistress. Meanwhile, Agbaji is averaging 18 points per game in the early stages of April – the third-best mark on Utah and over 10 points above his season average. Since signing with Utah in late February, Dunn has slowly built up some momentum as a legit scoring option and useful playmaker off the bench. The Jazz are in tough without any of their starters but they do have a couple capable scorers in Dunn and Ochai Agbaji. Utah also owns one of the worst defenses in the NBA at 117.9 points against per game, and the unit is even worse without any of their top players – something Brown and company should be able to capitalize on. Brown has been Denver’s most productive player off the bench this season and looks poised to have another strong performance as the team’s top offensive option today. While it’s unclear how many starters will be available for Denver, the Nuggets should still have the edge regardless assuming Brown and Jackson are good to go. While Denver may be without its starting unit, it’s confirmed that Utah will definitely be sitting all five starters, leaving the floor open to bench players like Dunn to take over.ĭunn is averaging 12.3 points per game this year but that number has bumped up to 15.6 over his last five contests thanks to a season-high performance last time out. Kris Dunn led Utah with 22 points while Kelly Olynyk (16 points, 14 rebounds) had a double-double. The Jazz took yet another loss on Thursday, this time losing 114-98 to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The small forward has scored 14-plus points in six of his last eight outings.

(rest) is listed as questionable.īrown (knee) is listed as probable to take the court following his best performance of the season. The injury list could be lengthy for the Nuggets as the entire starting unit of Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon (shoulder), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (illness) and Michael Porter Jr. Nikola Jokic (calf) and Jamal Murray (thumb) both sat out. Bruce Brown topped Denver with 31 points and Reggie Jackson added 20 in the loss. The Nuggets suffered their second straight defeat on Thursday, falling 119-115 to the Phoenix Suns. Utah is 15-2 in the last 17 meetings at home, while the UNDER is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall. The Nuggets opened as the 6-point road favorite with several question marks throughout the lineup heading into today’s game. Denver, which has already locked up top seed in the west, is 1-4 in its last five games, while Utah has just one win in its last nine contests. The Denver Nuggets (52-28, 43-36-1 ATS) head to Vivint Arena on Saturday to take on the Utah Jazz (36-44, 45-35) in the second-last game of the regular season. Video Poker Guide: Play the Best Online Video Poker Games.

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