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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- A year ago, the Denver Nuggets were 17-15, then
promptly lost their next six games, never seeing .500 again.
On Friday night, Denver was 17-15 before beating the Utah Jazz
100-87, showing signs its season might be headed in a different
direction this time.
If so, it probably will be because Antonio McDyess and Nick Van
Exel take them there.
McDyess scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds -- his seventh
straight double-double -- and Van Exel added 25 points as the
Nuggets handed the Jazz their fifth straight loss.
Van Exel also had seven rebounds, eight assists and a
season-high four steals.
"Nick and Antonio were both terrific tonight," Nuggets coach
Dan Issel said. "(Utah's) Karl Malone and John Stockton are the
measuring sticks for power forwards and point guards in this
league, and I think our two kids measured up pretty darn good."
Two free throws by Malone cut Denver's lead to 82-76 with 6:42
left, but McDyess countered with two straight baskets. Voshon
Lenard and George McCloud later had back-to-back 3-pointers,
putting Denver ahead 94-82 with 2:07 left.
Malone led the Jazz with 33 points, and Stockton had 14.
"Van Exel got right on top of the basket and made shots," Utah
coach Jerry Sloan said. "He had a terrific run when we couldn't
understand what we were trying to do with him. When he has a good
game against us, we have a tough time. We weren't able to answer
him at all.
"We're struggling. We haven't deserved to win. If you are not
tough enough to fight through those things mentally, it is going to
be difficult to win."
The Nuggets, avenging a 116-78 rout against Utah on Nov. 22 in
Salt Lake City, have won three straight and eight of their last 10.
This is the latest Denver has been three games above .500 since
1993-94, when they were 35-32.
Sloan said the Nuggets "have as good a chance as anybody" at
gaining the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, adding,
"I wouldn't know why they would be thinking about just getting to
the eighth spot, as good as they are."
Van Exel, however, refused to listen to any premature playoff
speculation.
"We haven't done anything yet," he said. "We're playing good,
but it's an 82-game, long season, and we have to keep it up."
Asked if he wasn't encouraged about beating Utah, Van Exel said,
"We're the Denver Nuggets. It's important for us to beat
everybody. When a team like Utah is struggling, you'd better take
advantage of it because they're not going to struggle all season."
Issel was ejected midway through the third quarter after being
assessed technical fouls 30 seconds apart.
Utah was without starting guard John Starks, who was serving the
first game of a two-game suspension for violating club policy.
McDyess outscored Malone 15-13 in the first quarter as the
Nuggets took a 27-25 lead. During one stretch, McDyess scored nine
straight Denver points while Malone had eight of 10 Jazz points.
Van Exel hit a 3-pointer midway through the second quarter to
put Denver ahead 34-29. After Stockton's 3-pointer produced a 36-36
tie, the Nuggets scored six straight points, including back-to-back
fast-break layups by Van Exel, the latter after he stole an
inbounds pass at midcourt.
Olden Polynice had eight points in the period for the Jazz, who
trailed 47-41 at halftime.
The Nuggets overcame a flurry of technical fouls in the third
quarter to emerge with a 74-66 lead at the end of the period.
Raef LaFrentz's three-point play early in the period put Denver
ahead 53-42, but the Jazz chipped away and cut the margin to 57-54
with 6:36 left after Stockton made a free throw on a technical foul
against Van Exel, and Bryon Russell hit two free throws on a
flagrant foul called on Van Exel.
Two minutes later, Issel was ejected, but Van Exel hit four
baskets the remainder of the period.
Game
notes
After beginning the season 16-4, the Jazz are 4-9 in their
last 13 games. ... The Nuggets have won four in a row over the Jazz
in Denver. ... Malone is playing with a bad back. ... Denver shot
46 percent to Utah's 39 percent. ... Denver, the NBA's third
highest scoring team, is 14-3 when it scores at least 100 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Utah Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 121
Seattle 89
Dallas 115
Toronto 105
Golden State 100
Boston 88
Denver 100
Utah 87
Phoenix 108
Vancouver 76
Portland 119
Milwaukee 115
Charlotte 86
LA Clippers 73
Indiana 93
Sacramento 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
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