Utah’s early scoring creates a lead Denver cannot erase
The Utah Jazz defeated the Denver Nuggets 109–97 at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Monday morning, October 5 Philippine time, beginning their NBA preseason with a win behind Lauri Markkanen’s 17 points. Keyonte George added 15 and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 11 for Utah.
The game took place on October 4 in Colorado. Utah moved ahead 36–26 after the opening quarter and led 63–52 at halftime. The teams each scored 25 points in the third, leaving the Jazz with an 88–77 advantage entering the final period. Denver never completed the comeback.
Utah opened with George, Darryn Peterson, Markkanen, Jackson and Jusuf Nurkić, according to KSL Sports. Markkanen and Jackson did not return after halftime, while George, Peterson and Ace Bailey continued into the third quarter as the Jazz spread minutes across the roster.
Peterson finished with three points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal, shooting 1-for-5 from the field. Bailey contributed 10 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes. Their extended involvement gave Utah an opening preseason look at its younger players alongside the established members of the rotation.
George briefly went to the locker room after taking a hit to the mouth in the second quarter, KSL Sports reported. He returned to play in the third. He finished with 21 minutes on the court.
Julian Strawther led Denver with 14 points and Aaron Gordon added 12. Nikola Jokić recorded seven assists and made his only official field-goal attempt. Tyus Jones supplied six assists, while Denver’s starters finished their night at halftime. Jamal Murray did not play for personal reasons, according to Denver Stiffs’ recap.
The early deficit remained the central problem for Denver even as both teams moved through their benches. Utah matched the Nuggets’ third-quarter output and then edged them 21–20 in the fourth to close out the 12-point victory.
The teams meet again at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center on October 7 at 9 a.m. Philippine time.