Jazz remain winless after the clear defeat in Denver

DENVER (ABC4 Sports) – The Utah Jazz are still looking for their first win of the season.

Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and Michael Porter Jr. 20 as the Denver Nuggets used a third-quarter offensive surge to beat the Utah Jazz 129-103 for their first home win of the season on Saturday night.

Julian Strawther scored 19 points and Christian Braun 17 for the Nuggets, who handed the winless Jazz their sixth straight loss to start the season. Jokic also had 16 rebounds and nine assists.

Utah was led by Walker Kessler with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Johnny Juzang with 17 points.

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Both teams struggled with injuries. Russell Westbrook started in place of Nuggets star Jamal Murray, who remained in the concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in a collision with Julius Randle in Minnesota on Friday.

Utah leaned on freshmen Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski to start in the absence of Lauri Markkanen (back spasms) and Taylor Hendricks (broken leg).

Utah committed 24 turnovers, which the Nuggets turned into 39 points.

Utah stayed pretty close in the first half but let up in the third quarter when they fell behind by 24 points.

Denver began its home campaign with losses to the Thunder and Clippers before defeating Utah. The win matched their home record against teams under .500 at home last season, when they were 15-0.

Utah fought back from a 17-point deficit in the first quarter and tied the game at 42 points midway through the second quarter. But Denver responded with a 14-0 run that included three points from Braun and Porter and helped the Nuggets take a 65-56 halftime lead.

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Jokic scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter to help the Nuggets beat the Jazz 34-19.

The Jazz continue their four-game road trip Monday night in Chicago.

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