The Jazz (37-44) greet the Salt Lake City crowd in the best possible way and, with several defections, trip the listless Nuggets (52-29). Utah’s last match between friendly walls thus becomes a catwalk especially for Agbaji who has made incredible progress this season but also for a very solid Simone Fontecchio. The blue finishes with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists and also gets the applause of the Vivint Arena crowd with a peremptory dunk in the third quarter. In recent weeks, the Nuggets seem to have pulled the plug, waiting for the postseason, and the first quarter of Salt Lake City testifies to it. Little rhythm and many imprecisions, the Jazz thus immediately take control of the operations. Fontecchio enters and has suffered a good impact, finds a triple then scores from the perimeter. Not even a shadow of the Nuggets seen for most of the season in the first 10′ of the match. Utah even reaches +18, then the team with the best record in the Western Conference decides to raise the level of attention at least a little and slowly goes back down, arriving at the break three lengths late. Things go much better in attack for the guests in the third period, the triples by Murray and Caldwell-Pope thus rest Jokic and his teammates ahead, Utah however stubbornly remains in the match. Agbaji and Dunn bring the hosts back under, Fontecchio’s plays also arrive, in the final fraction so we play point by point. Coach Malone leaves his owners on the bench, the Jazz accelerate right in the final and with a run of 8-0 they take back the reins of the match, and then close the accounts with free throws by the usual Agbaji (28 points) at 11” from the siren.
Utah: FONTECCHIO 15 (3/7, 3/8) with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 turnovers in 23′. Agbaji 28 (7/14, 3/11, 5/5 tl), Samanic 23, Dunn 19. Rebounds: Azubuike 11. Assists: Dunn 14.
Denver: Caldwell-Pope 21 (1/4, 6/8, 1/1 tl), Murray 20, Gordon, Porter Jr. 15. Rebounds: Jokic 10. Assists: Jokic 10.