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Jazz take down Nuggets

Jan 16, 2012 - 7:49 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Paul Millsap had 26 points and 12 rebounds, as the Jazz downed the Nuggets, 106-96, on Sunday.

Gordon Hayward scored 19 and Al Jefferson had 18 and 12 boards for the Jazz, winners of seven of their last eight.

Danilo Gallinari and Nene both finished with 18 points to pace the Nuggets, who were coming off Friday's win over the Heat.

"I guess we didn't play hard enough," said Nuggets forward Al Harrington. "We didn't match their intensity."

The teams were deadlocked, 48-48, after a back-and-forth first half which featured 13 ties and nine lead changes. The Jazz, though, began to establish themselves after the break.

Hayward's dunk gave them a 67-62 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. Utah maintained a five-point advantage until the closing seconds of the quarter, when Corey Brewer drained a pair of foul shots to pull Denver within three. But Alec Burks answered on the other end, drawing a foul on a baseline drive and hitting 1-of-2 free throws to make it 77-73.

Early in the fourth, Gallinari's trey pulled Denver within two, but Millsap scored six straight to put Utah up 87-79. Millsap continued to keep the Nuggets at bay, hitting a putback layup for a 91-81 lead and later stretching the advantage to 12 with a fadeaway baseline jumper.

Denver trailed 102-95 with under two minutes remaining, but Ty Lawson was called for an offensive foul and Hayward made a layup on the other end to put the game away.

"I just found a zone," said Millsap. "My teammates did a good job of finding me and I just knocked down shots."

Game Notes

The Nuggets saw their two-game win streak come to an end...Utah had lost six of its last seven games in Denver prior to Sunday...Nuggets swingman Rudy Fernandez left the game with a sprained Achilles.