Game ID: 22300110
Utah Jazz @ Denver Nuggets
Monday, October 30, 2023 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 31 27 22 30 110UTA 21 24 24 33 102
DEN vs UTA ScoutingDEN vs UTA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 10/24 · season opener
full strength
DEN availability going into 10/27 · 2 days' rest
full strength
DEN availability going into 10/29 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 15)
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 10/24, out tonight
DEN availability going into 10/30 · back-to-backOUT Jordan missed 3 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 10/29 after 2, 3 min since (22% of 15)
DEN availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 10/29 after 2, 3 min since (22% of 15)
DEN availability going into 11/03 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 5 since 10/24, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 10/29 after 2, 4 min since (31% of 15)
DEN availability going into 11/04 · back-to-backOUT Jordan missed 6 since 10/24, returns tonight: 12 min (113% of 11)
BACK Holiday back 10/29 after 2, 4 min since (31% of 15)
DEN availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 2 since 11/03, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 11/04 after 6, 12 min since (113% of 11)
UTA availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
UTA availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
UTA availability going into 10/28 · back-to-back
full strength
UTA availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's restOUT Hendricks missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Sensabaugh missed 2 since 10/27, out tonight
UTA availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Hendricks missed 3 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Sensabaugh missed 3 since 10/27, out tonight
UTA availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Hendricks missed 4 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Sensabaugh missed 4 since 10/27, out tonight
UTA availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Hendricks missed 5 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Sensabaugh missed 5 since 10/27, out tonight
NEW Horton-Tucker 20 to 25 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Hendricks missed 6 since 10/27, out tonight
OUT Sensabaugh missed 6 since 10/27, out tonight
NEW Horton-Tucker 20 to 25 min over the last 5
10/24 vs LAL 119-107 — DEN notes
DEN won 119-107. DEN shot 53% (48 of 91) to LAL's 46%, 14 of 34 from three, and got to the line 12 times to LAL's 20. Jokić led with 29 (12 of 22, 3 of 5 from three); Murray added 21, Caldwell-Pope 20. The hinge was Q1, 34-20: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 18. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
10/27 @ MEM 108-104 — DEN notes
DEN won 108-104. DEN shot 47% (41 of 88) to MEM's 44%, 14 of 37 from three, and got to the line 18 times to MEM's 24. Jokić led with 22 (8 of 14, 1 of 4 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Murray added 22, Jackson 16. The hinge was Q1, 25-18: from level to 7 ahead. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
10/29 @ OKC 128-95 — DEN notes
DEN won 128-95. DEN shot 60% (53 of 88) to OKC's 41%, 11 of 27 from three. The glass went 48-29 for them. Jokić led with 28 (12 of 16); Porter Jr. added 20, Murray 19. The hinge was Q1, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 35. Braun was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
10/30 vs UTA 110-102 — DEN notes
DEN won 110-102. DEN shot 56% (47 of 84) to UTA's 43%, 9 of 28 from three. Jokić led with 27 (12 of 16, 1 of 3 from three); Gordon added 21, Murray 18. The hinge was Q1, 31-21: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 17. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
11/04 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 51 percent and 34 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 18 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 110, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 20 free throws a game; LaVine at 26 and DeRozan at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and Chicago minus-5. Call it Denver 113, Chicago 104.
11/06 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 104, shooting 52 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Porter Jr. at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; Williamson at 22 and McCollum at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 12 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-7 a night and New Orleans minus-12 and the line, where New Orleans takes 25 free throws a game to Denver's 18. Call it Denver 114, New Orleans 105.
10/25 vs SAC 114-130 — UTA notes
UTA lost 114-130. UTA shot 45% (41 of 91) to SAC's 46%, 9 of 28 from three, and went to the line 31 times to SAC's 20 — 23 points from the stripe to their 17. Clarkson led with 24 (8 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Markkanen added 19, Collins 15. Q4 was theirs, 27-25, the deficit cut from 18 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 105-87 against them. Dunn's -16 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/27 vs LAC 120-118 — UTA notes
UTA won 120-118. UTA shot 44% (42 of 96) to LAC's 53%, 16 of 41 from three, and got to the line 22 times to LAC's 28. Markkanen led with 35 (12 of 23, 5 of 13 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Olynyk added 15, Collins 13. The hinge was Q2, 30-24: a lead of 3 became 9. Markkanen was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
10/28 @ PHX 104-126 — UTA notes
UTA lost 104-126. UTA shot 44% (40 of 91) to PHX's 53%, 12 of 37 from three, and got to the line 14 times to PHX's 28. UTA turned it over 18 times to PHX's 11, and PHX turned those into 10 steals. Markkanen led with 19 (7 of 13, 5 of 7 from three); Sexton added 14, Fontecchio 13. Q4 was theirs, 26-20, the deficit cut from 28 to 22, but the other 3 periods went 106-78 against them. Collins's -28 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/30 @ DEN 102-110 — UTA notes
UTA lost 102-110. UTA took 14 more shots (98 to 84), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 43% to DEN's 56%, 11 of 37 from three. Markkanen led with 27 (10 of 24, 5 of 13 from three); Kessler added 22, Horton-Tucker 16. Q4 was theirs, 33-30, the deficit cut from 11 to 8, but the other 3 periods went 80-69 against them. George's -12 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/06 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 114, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 19 free throws a game; LaVine at 26 and DeRozan at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Dosunmu (2 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Markkanen at 22 and Collins at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Hendricks (6 straight), Sensabaugh (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Utah has been plus-5 a night and Chicago minus-7 and the turnovers, Utah giving it away 18 times a game to Chicago's 11. Call it Chicago 113, Utah 111, Utah keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
UTACS C. Sexton
JC J. Clarkson
JC J. Collins
KD K. Dunn
KG K. George
KO K. Olynyk
LM L. Markkanen
OA O. Agbaji
TH T. Horton-Tucker
WK W. Kessler
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JM J. Murray
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
UTA/DEN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Nikola Jokic posts 107th career triple-double as Nuggets beat Jazz 110-102 for 4th straight win
DENVER -- — Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season, Jamal Murray added 18 points and 14 assists, and the Denver Nuggets continued their strong start to the season with a 110-102 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Jokic is tied with LeBron James and Jason Kidd for fourth on the all-time list with 107 career triple-doubles.
“It speaks to his greatness, it speaks to his consistency, night in and night out playing the game at an extremely high level,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “The one thing you can compare LeBron and Nikola with is the ability to make everyone around them better. That is the definition of greatness.”
Aaron Gordon scored 21 points, most on thunderous dunks, as Denver extended its season-opening winning streak to four games. It is the Nuggets’ first 4-0 start since 2018 and the sixth in franchise history. The 1976-77 team’s 8-0 start is the best in club history.
Denver was coming off a win at Oklahoma City on Sunday afternoon and was playing its third game in four days. The Nuggets are in a stretch in which they play five games in seven days.
“I’m not gonna lie, those back-to-back, those travel days, those are tough, but we’ve just got to win,” Murray said. “However we get it. Everything’s better when you when win. My body feels a lot better when we win and film is a lot more fun to watch when we win.”
Lauri Markkanen had 27 points and 14 rebounds, Walker Kessler added 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Talen Horton-Tucker scored 16 points for Utah.
Denver has trailed for just four-and-a-half minutes this season. The Jazz led 3-2 for 16 seconds before the Nuggets grabbed the lead for good on a layup by Gordon.
Denver finished with 32 assists one night after it had 34 against the Thunder and is averaging 30.5 assists a game, so far.
“Whoever comes here I think they figure out, ‘Oh, we share the ball, I’m going to share it, too.’” Jokic said.
The Nuggets led by 17 points early in the second half before the Jazz went on a run and closed within 73-65 late in the third quarter. Collin Sexton hit two 3-pointers to cut it to 85-80 against Denver’s reserves early in the fourth, but after a timeout coach Michael Malone went back to his stars.
Jokic hit a hook shot, fed Gordon for an easy dunk and then Gordon followed Christian Braun’s miss with another slam to make it an 11-point game, and the Nuggets closed it out.
“Jokic and Murray are both capable of making a lot of tough shots,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “They put you in difficult positions, with not only their scoring but their playmaking. But I feel like our team showed what we’re capable of and now it’s about finding that consistency from the beginning of the game.”
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Nuggets: At the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.