Nuggets bounce back from poor effort against Knicks, crush Jazz in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — If the Nuggets need to be coming off a loss or playing from behind to bring their best effort, that’s a larger problem that’ll need to be addressed this season before it’s too late.

But for now in a tight Western Conference, they’ll take what they can get, however they can get it. On Wednesday, that was a 122-103 win over the Jazz to bounce back from a 27-point loss in Denver.

Jamal Murray gained momentum throughout the night for 20 points, eight assists and four steals. And Nikola Jokic rebounded from one of his worst statistical games of the season by making 13 of 19 shots for 30 points, 19 of which came in the first quarter. The Nuggets (10-7) needed that. They were fighting to stay afloat in the frame after falling behind by 12 to a short-handed Jazz team that couldn’t miss from three.

Murray and Michael Porter Jr. both struggled to provide secondary scoring in their first stints. But Russell Westbrook covered them with strong minutes off the bench, helping to revive Denver by the end of the frame. Westbrook’s entry passes to Jokic have been consistently highlight-worthy this season, and Wednesday was no different. He threaded one needle from the right wing, leading Jokic to the ball behind his defender and creating an easy layup, rather than a more taxing post-up. It was one of four assists for Westbrook in the quarter.

Murray scored his first points at the 6:53 mark of the second after an 0-for-5 start. He finished the half strong, with eight points as Denver opened up its own double-digit lead. It became 26 after halftime.

Porter finished with 19 points. Christian Braun added 18 on 6-of-8 shooting.

Defensively, the Nuggets corrected a couple of the key problems that have plagued them recently, evoking Michael Malone’s rage on Monday. They won the paint 64-38 and outscored the Jazz 33-9 in transition, two nights after Malone called Denver a “one-way running team.” Utah was held to 18 points in the second quarter and 23 in the third.

Whenever Aaron Gordon is able to return from a calf strain, the team’s interior and perimeter defense should receive another jolt. Denver still isn’t assigning a specific timeline to his recovery, but he traveled with the team to Utah for the one-game trip.

Vlatko Cancar is also closing in on how to proceed after re-injuring his left knee in Memphis, Malone said before the game. Cancar, 27, missed the 2023-24 season with a torn ACL. He remains listed on injury reports as having a sprained left knee, but surgery is on the table for the Slovenian forward.

“I know he’s been seeking multiple opinions from other people and talking,” Malone said. “I do believe that he’s narrowed it down, and probably ready to make a decision here any day now. And as I told him, whatever decision you make, you make what’s best for you. … I feel awful for that kid because every time he gets a chance to play and plays well, it seems like he continues to get hurt. We’ll support him in any way we can, but I don’t think a final decision has been made, and if it has, I haven’t been made aware of that.”

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