• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Nuggets visit Jazz for key Western Conference matchup

Mar 23, 2012 - 2:53 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of Northwest Division rivals with the playoffs on their minds clash tonight in Salt Lake City, as the Utah Jazz take on the Denver Nuggets at EnergySolutions Arena.

The Jazz are beginning to play cohesive basketball under head coach Tyrone Corbin and sit just a half-game behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth and final postseason berth in the West. They have ripped off five straight wins and are 10-4 in their previous 14 games following Thursday's 103-102 victory at Sacramento.

Al Jefferson recorded a game-high 26 points, including the game-winning tip-in within the final second of action, and Gordon Hayward added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Jazz, who made 47.3 percent of their shots and got 12 points and 10 boards from Derrick Favors. Devin Harris had 14 points in what he described as a full team effort.

"We're playing for a full 48 minutes. The guys are trusting one another," said Harris. "They are really finishing out games and paying attention to detail."

Utah will make a quick stop at home before embarking on a three-game road trip against the Hawks, Nets and Celtics, and has won six in a row at home. The Jazz are a solid 18-6 in Salt Lake City this season and are averaging 100.1 ppg as the host.

The Nuggets just completed a season-high nine-game homestand with a 5-4 mark and recorded an exciting 116-115 victory versus the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday from the Pepsi Center. Newcomer JaVale McGee made a positive first impression with his new team after coming over in a three-team trade with Washington and finished with 15 points, including the game-winning tip-in in the closing moments of the game.

"I just went hard and pushed [Pistons guard Greg] Monroe under the rim and I was just wide open. I was trying not to goaltend it and I just dunked it. It was definitely exciting -- my first game-winner," said McGee.

Ty Lawson paced the Nuggets with 25 points and Arron Afflalo added 23 points for the Nuggets, who raced out to a 40-18 lead after the first quarter before coming back to earth. The Nuggets are seventh in the West standings and will commence a seven-game road trip Friday against the Jazz, Timberwolves, Bulls, Raptors, Bobcats, Magic and Hornets.

Nuggets guard Rudy Fernandez missed the Detroit game with a back injury and is expected to undergo surgery for the problem. Lawson is averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.58 steals in his last 12 games for a Denver squad that owns an 11-9 record away from the Rocky Mountains. The Nuggets are averaging a league-high 105.8 points as the visitor this season.

Afflalo is averaging 18.3 ppg in his last 16 contests.

Denver and Utah have split the first two meetings of the season in the Rockies, while the Nuggets have dropped 25 of the past 30 trips to SLC.