Nikola Jokic Leads Nuggets to Win over Jazz as Donovan Mitchell Musters 4 Points

The Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz will see plenty of each other down the stretch, and the former earned initial bragging rights.

Denver won the first of four matchups between the teams this season with a 106-100 victory Thursday at Pepsi Center. Nikola Jokic spearheaded a balanced effort, helping his team improve to 33-15 on the campaign and 3-1 in the last four.

As for the Jazz, they are trending in the wrong direction with three straight losses but are still an impressive 32-16 on the season. Donovan Mitchell struggled throughout and finished with a mere four points in defeat, unable to provide enough support for Jordan Clarkson.

Notable Player Stats

• DEN C Nikola Jokic: 28 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and three steals
• DEN F Will Barton: 18 points and five rebounds
• DEN F Torrey Craig: 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks
• DEN F Michael Porter Jr.: 12 points and 12 rebounds
• DEN F Jerami Grant: 15 points and five rebounds
• UTA G Jordan Clarkson: 37 points and two rebounds
• UTA C Rudy Gobert: 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks
• UTA F Bojan Bogdanovic: 18 points and six rebounds

Donovan Mitchell's Scoring Goes Missing After Making 1st Career All-Star Game

Nikola Jokic Scores 28 and Dishes Out 10 Assists

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There was plenty of optimism surrounding the Jazz entering the season, and much of it centered on the addition of veteran point guard Mike Conley as an offensive spark plug for an already talented group.

However, the Ohio State product has been a shell of the version who dominated for so long as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, missing significant time with injuries and shooting a career-worst 37.7 percent from the field. He didn't play in Thursday's game after scoring in single figures during three of his last six outings.

That hasn't stopped the Jazz from piling up wins with first-time All-Stars Mitchell and Rudy Gobert anchoring a group that entered play an impressive seventh in the league in offensive rating, per NBA.com.

While Bojan Bogdanovic has been a revelation for Utah, and Clarkson, who was brilliant against Denver, has provided a scoring punch off the bench, the offense largely goes as Mitchell goes. 

He did anything but go Thursday.

Denver swarmed against his penetration, blocked him multiple times, contested his outside shots and set the tone on the defensive side as it came roaring back from a double-digit deficit and completely flipped the game with an extended 27-1 run in the third and fourth quarters.

Clarkson did what he could to keep the Jazz within striking distance, scoring 24 of his team's 30 points in the fourth quarter, but winning on the road against a championship contender when the squad's best player doesn't record a point until less than five minutes remain is not a recipe for victory.

Nuggets' Depth on Full Display in Win

Jordan Clarkson Is a Walking Bucket! 37 Pts Off of the Bench, 7-12 from 3

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If the Jazz see the Nuggets in the playoffs, they are going to look significantly different than Thursday's version.

Jamal Murray (ankle), Paul Millsap (knee), Mason Plumlee (foot) and Gary Harris (personal reasons) were all sidelined, which put plenty of pressure on Jokic to lead the offense. That is a tall enough task on any given night, let alone one during which he is matched up with Gobert, who is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Defensive selection.

All Jokic did was notch his eighth straight double-double with vision that would make most point guards jealous and clutch scoring to put the game away after Clarkson made one last push.

Jokic was dialed in offensively, but it was far from a solo effort. Five Nuggets finished in double figures with Will Barton and Torrey Craig attacking the lane, Michael Porter Jr. controlling the boards and Jerami Grant mixing in a key four-point play as Denver seized control during its run.

At some point during the Western Conference playoffs against the league's best teams, the Nuggets will need support for their primary playmakers. While Jokic made the key plays in crunch time, the overall effort throughout the roster suggested there is enough depth to answer that challenge.

What's Next?

Both teams are on the road for their next game. The Nuggets face the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, while the Jazz play the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.