Utah Jazz
Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin came up big in the third quarter. But once they went down, 5-5 Earl Boykins came up even bigger.
Anthony and Martin combined for 22 points in the third quarter and Boykins added 11 in the fourth period as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 97-87 victory over the Utah Jazz.
With Denver trailing, 46-45, three minutes into the third quarter, Anthony buried a 3-pointer to spark a 19-4 run over the next five-plus minutes. Anthony scored 11 points over that stretch and Martin scored the final six, including a pair of free throws with 3:55 remaining to extend the lead to 65-50.
"We didn't play good defense and they jumped on us with the fast break," Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko said. "The second squad stepped in and did a great job. They kept us in the game tonight."
Anthony, who finished with 25 points, left the court limping with just over one minute left in the third quarter. Martin, who scored 17 points, departed at the same time after he was struck in the face battling for position inside.
"Miller and Martin had solid games," Denver coach George Karl said. "But I felt this was probably Carmelo's best game he has played for me yet."
The Jazz took advantage of their absence, using a 10-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to reduce the deficit to 72-68 with 9:30 to go. Kirilenko scored the final six points of the run.
The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes before Kirilenko's two free throws with just under seven minutes remaining made it 79-76. But Denver responded with an 10-4 surge over the next two minutes to build an 89-80 cushion.
Boykins scored six points during that stretch and added a 3-pointer with 74 seconds left to extend the lead to 94-84. The smallest player in the NBA scored 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
It is the fourth time this season Boykins has scored 20 or more. He has reached double figures in 11 of his last 12 games and extended his consecutive free-throw streak to 46.
"He was great for us tonight," Karl said. "We were able to get some good shots against their zone and Earl made the big three that made it easy for us at the end. Our bench played really well tonight."
Both Anthony and Martin returned but were not as effective. Nevertheless, Denver improved to 5-1 under Karl.
"We knew we needed this game before the (five-game) road trip," Anthony said. "I think we played some good team defense tonight."
Mehmet Okur collected 21 points and 10 rebounds and Matt Harpring added 15 and seven off the bench for Utah. The Jazz shot just 36 percent (29-of-80) from the floor after shooting 51 percent in a pair of victories over Denver earlier this season.
Kirilenko scored eight points on 1-of-7 shooting to lead the Jazz's starters, who made just 5-of-27 shots. Utah's starters were outscored, 67-19, and benched to start the second half.
"Our whole team has struggled lately," Sloan said. "We've got to execute, screen, pass to open guys, and we have difficulty doing that. We don't have to make great plays, we just have to make simple plays."
Marcus Camby grabbed 14 rebounds and had seven of the Nuggets' 11 blocked shots. Andre Miller led the transition game with 10 assists as Denver scored 23 fast-break points.
"Denver seems to be back together and working hard," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They're doing a great job of pushing the ball up the floor."