Lack of execution late dooms Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz

Sloppy play and lack of execution prevented the Nuggets from taking a close fourth quarter game as Denver in Utah. The Jazz won it 97-88. The lack of shot-makers is becoming a more-and-more of a glaring problem as the Nuggets offense routinely stalls when the going gets tough.

THE RUNDOWN

First Quarter – Starters: Jameer Nelson, Gary Harris, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Joffrey Lauvergne

The Nuggets came out playing nicely, but the Jazz were simply making all their looks (61 percent from the field) while the Nuggets couldn’t convert their looks (38 percent).

Harris looked active making good cuts off the ball and even contributing a bit in the playmaking area:

Harris was also switched onto Gordon Hayward early in the game in an attempt to slow down the Jazz production, just as we suggested in the preview.

It looked like it was going to be an ugly outing for the Nuggets as they were down double-digits early, but the team rallied and ended the first quarter down just seven. Good to see from the young team.

End of first: Jazz up 30-23.

Second Quarter – Starters: Randy Foye, Will Barton, Kostas Papanikolaou, Darrell Arthur, Nikola Jokic

The Nuggets played hard throughout the second, scrambled after loose balls and grabbed seven offensive boards to the Jazz’s three at this point. Love seeing the effort head coach Michael Malone has brought out of the team.

Foye continued to hurt the team by being a negative on defense all for the sake of shooting 0-1 from the field. Wait, why is he on the court again? I think I’d rather have Barton playing point and leave Foye on the bench.

Harris and Barton contributed with their energy and each have a team-high 10 points as well as playing disruptive defense.

Nelson ran the offense to perfection with the starting lineup — I hope Mudiay is taking notes from the bench:

The Nuggets shot just 40.5 percent from the field in the first half, but made it up by forcing the issue and earning their way to the charity stripe 18 times to the Jazz’s eight. Great to see the Nuggets aggressively driving and not settling for tough jumpers.

End of second: Jazz up 53-49.

Third Quarter – Starters: Nelson, Harris, Gallinari, Faried, Lauvergne

The first possession of the third consisted of two Nuggets offensive boards before Nelson sank a fadeaway jumper. That was the epitome of the quarter as the Nuggets simply outworked the Jazz, continuing their dominance on the boards.

The Nuggets took the lead halfway through the third behind Gallo finding Joffrey for a dunk and then a three on the very next possession. Here are those plays:

End of third: Jazz up 77-73

Fourth Quarter – Starters: Foye, Harris, Barton, Arthur, Jokic

The Jazz came out perfectly willing to give the Nuggets the game with careless turnovers, but the Nuggets failed to capitalize early:

It was a quarter of runs as the Nuggets kicked the fourth quarter off with an 8-0 jolt, before the Jazz returned the favor by scoring seven unanswered points.

Nuggets were down by just two with 2:17 remaining before Trevor Booker, a career 29.8 percent 3-point shooter, made a corner three at the end of the buzzer. The Nuggets called a timeout and then committed an offensive foul right after. They then gave up an offensive board on the next possession. Tough to win close games when you’re making careless mistakes in addition to not capitalizing on your opponent’s miscues.

The Jazz finished the game on a 13-4 run and put the game out of reach for Denver. As a cherry on top, the Nuggets commit a five-second inbounding violation in the very last minute of gameplay. Simply inexcusable.

Final: Jazz win 97-88.

WHERE/WHEN

Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT | Dec. 18th | Regular Season Game 26 (11-15)

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME

The Nuggets were very well in this game until the lack of execution in the fourth. They failed to punish the Jazz for their turnovers and committed plenty of mistakes themselves, snatching defeat away from the jaws of victory.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

Derrick Favors drives the lane only to get STUFFED by Jameer:

Faried with the nice spin in the post for the and-1:

King Joffrey relentless at the rim:

BY THE NUMBERS

The Nuggets played well but simply could not make any shots as they shot a laughable 39.2 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. Not gonna win many games like that.

Having 14 turnovers doesn’t help much either.

Two positives fans can take away are the 25 free throw attempts and the 15 offensive boards to the Jazz’s five. The Nuggets’ aggression was not the reason they lost the game tonight.

LASTING IMPRESSION

The Nuggets have lost their win streak, as well as the eighth seed (early in the season, but still) to the Utah Jazz. Fortunately for the Nuggets, help should be on the way soon as Emmanuel Mudiay is expected to return in a week as well as the sorely-missed Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic being cleared for full-contact. This team is only going to get better in time.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Nuggets will look to use the struggling Pelicans (7-18) and their abysmal defense as a launching pad to bounce back. Tip off is on Sunday Dec. 20th in the Pepsi Center at 6:00 p.m. MT.