Tempers fly in Utah as Donovan Mitchell, Jazz hand Nuggets first division loss of season

The NBA has found three of their contestants for next month’s three-point contest at All-Star weekend: Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Kyle Korver.

Together, the Jazz trio combined to shoot 13-26 from three-point range as the Jazz collectively hit 19 of their 46 triples, outscoring the Nuggets 57-24 from beyond the arc. Utah’s long-range prowess lifted the Jazz to a 114-108 win, ending the Nuggets’ two-game winning streak and handing Denver its first loss of the season in the Northwest Division.

After jumping out to an 8-0 lead, Denver cut Utah’s advantage to six points at the end of the first quarter, a margin which stood for most of the second before the Jazz extended their lead to double digits early in the third. Utah led 111-102 with 3:05 left in regulation, but Denver battled back to trail by just four following a Will Barton three with 1:27 to go. That was as close as the Nuggets got.

Utah’s three-point shooting wouldn’t have hurt Denver as badly as it did if the Nuggets could find some semblance of rhythm from beyond the arc. As a team, Denver shot just 8-27 (29.6 percent) from three. Nikola Jokic, who finished with 28 points, 21 rebounds and six assists, was just 1-7 from three-point range. Trey Lyles, who had a solid outing against his former team, tallied 12 points and three rebounds off Denver’s bench went 0-4 from distance. Torrey Craig, Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris combined to shoot 3-13 from deep.

Will Barton, who finished with 22 points, and Monte Morris, who registered 10 points, were the only two Nuggets to find their range in Utah, shooting a combined 6-8 from three.

Mitchell led the Jazz with a game-high 35 points. Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Wednesday night’s nationally televised matchup had the feel of a first-round playoff series, not a late-January regular season game. Mason Plumlee and Derrick Favors were ejected after a shoving match in the first quarter. Crowder and Barton were also assessed technicals on the play.

This was Denver’s eighth-straight loss in Utah.

The Nuggets and Jazz meet again on Feb. 28 in Denver.