Denver Nuggets (48-28, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-55, 14th in the Western Conference)
Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Utah aims to end its four-game home losing streak with a win over Denver.
The Jazz are 1-13 in division play. Utah allows the most points in the Western Conference, giving up 125.4 points and is allowing opponents to shoot 49.2%.
The Nuggets are 8-5 against the rest of their division. Denver is fifth in the league with 28.8 assists per game led by Nikola Jokic averaging 10.8.
The Jazz are shooting 46.6% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 46.9% the Nuggets allow to opponents. The Nuggets average 14.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 fewer made shots on average than the 15.3 per game the Jazz give up.
The teams square off for the fourth time this season. The Nuggets won the last matchup 135-129 on March 28. Jokic scored 33 points to help lead the Nuggets to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Filipowski is shooting 49.5% and averaging 11.1 points for the Jazz. Ace Bailey is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Jokic is averaging 27.9 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.8 assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 1-9, averaging 116.8 points, 41.2 rebounds, 29.4 assists, 10.3 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 127.6 points per game.
Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 127.0 points, 45.2 rebounds, 32.8 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.6 points.
INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (hip), Isaiah Collier: out (hamstring), Keyonte George: out (leg), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Elijah Harkless: out (hamstring), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).
Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji: day to day (hip), Spencer Jones: day to day (hamstring), Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), Cameron Johnson: day to day (back).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Read the full article here