Jazz at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets look to halt their eight-game home losing streak when they host the Utah Jazz on Friday night. The Nuggets are coming off a 110-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and have dropped 17 of their last 19 games, including their last three by an average margin of 22.3 points. Denver has surrendered 104 or more points in six of its eight losses in the month of February and hopes to stop the bleeding by beating the Jazz for the third consecutive time.
Utah missed a golden opportunity to secure its first three-game winning streak in over a year when it blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to fall 100-97 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The Jazz have lost five of their last seven games on the road, with their last three losses away from home coming by a combined 13 points. Utah has failed to top the 100-point plateau in four straight games and hopes to get back on track by winning in Denver for the first time since Dec. 13, 2013.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (21-35): Gordon Hayward led the way with 20 points and Elijah Millsap added a career-high 17 points off the bench, but it wasn't enough as Utah let a 13-point lead slip away to the Lakers. Hayward coughed the ball up six times as the Jazz finished with more turnovers (21) than assists (18). "This is not so much poise but a lack of mental toughness," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "This is something we have to grow from as we didn't do enough when it counted."
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (20-37): Kenneth Faried (thumb) and Wilson Chandler (groin) sat out the loss to Phoenix, but are both likely to return in time to face the Jazz on Friday. The news may not be as good for rookie revelation Jusuf Nurkic, who sustained a right lateral ankle sprain in the fourth quarter versus the Suns and there is no timetable for his return. "He hasn't ever really been hurt before so for that to happen would be pretty scary for him," Denver coach Brian Shaw told reporters. "He wouldn't let anyone touch him when he was on the court."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets have won five of the last seven meetings.
2. Denver has been outrebounded 182-131 in its last three outings.
3. The Jazz have finished below 70 percent from the free-throw line in 10 of their last 12 games.