What to Watch For: Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets

The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets will play for the final time this regular season on Friday night in Salt Lake City

Jordan Clarkson (00) shoots over Nikola Jokic (15) 

The Utah Jazz topped the San Antonio Spurs 126-94 Wednesday night, finishing with two wins in back to back games against their Western Conference rival. Utah and Denver will face off for the third and final time this regular season on Friday.

Jazz vs Nuggets Throwback:

The Jazz and Nuggets have played against each other 200-times throughout history, with the Jazz leading the all time matchups record 116-84. The Jazz and Nuggets are 1-1 this season when facing off against each other.

Last time out, the Nuggets beat the Jazz in Denver 117-128. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way for the Jazz with 29-points while Mike Conley added 8-assists to Utah's attack.

Key Players:

Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic are two of the highest performing centers in the League. Gobert is currently the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, while Jokic is in the running for MVP.

Rudy Gobert (27) defends Nikola Jokic (15) 

Gobert leads the Jazz in rebounds (13.4), field goal percentage (67.7%), and blocks (2.8) per game this season. 

Jokic leads the Nuggets in points (26.4), rebounds (10.9), field goal percentage (56.5%), assists (8.4) and steals (1.4) per game.

Fun Facts:

The Earned Edition uniforms will make another appearance at Vivint Smart Home Arena as the Jazz take on the Nuggets. Utah is 5-3 when wearing their lime-green uniforms, with their last win in them coming over the Los Angeles Lakers on April 19.

Donovan Mitchell's ankle was re-evaluated in the next few days to give the Jazz a better understanding on how he is healing and when he might be able to return.

The Utah Jazz were the first team to secure a spot in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, and currently hold the number one seed. They need to beat the Phoenix Suns by one game or more to obtain the one-seed, and the Jazz currently are holding a one game lead over their nearest challenger. Read about the two teams upcoming schedules here.

TNT's Ernie Johnson picked the Utah Jazz to make it to the NBA Finals last night, making him the second person on the TNT panel to favor the Jazz winning the Western Conference and making it to the finals. Read more about it here.

The Utah Jazz took back the first place spot in the NBA with their win over San Antonio, and the Suns loss against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The Jazz are 48-18 and are in first place in the NBA and Western Conference. The Jazz are leading the Phoenix Suns by one game, and the Los Angeles Clippers by three and a half games in the Western Conference. They also lead the Philadelphia 76ers by three games and the Brooklyn Nets by five and a half games in the Eastern Conference.

The Denver Nuggets have surged since picking up Aaron Gordon at the trade deadline, and currently own a 44-22 record. The Nuggets are sitting in fourth place in the Western Conference and fifth place in the NBA. In their last five games, the Nuggets are 4-1 with wins coming over the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors, and New Orleans Pelicans. Their lone loss during that time came against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Donovan Mitchell (right ankle sprain) Juwan Morgan (N.A.) and Mike Conley (right hamstring) are listed as out for Friday's game. There was some good news on the Jazz injury report, with Udoka Azubuike (ankle) being cleared to play and is probable for the game against the Nuggets. 

Zeke Nnaji (ankle) is questionable for Friday's matchup, while Will Barton (hamstring), PJ Dozier (groin), Monte Morris (hamstring) and Jamal Murray (knee) are all listed as out against the Jazz later this evening.

How to Consume:

The Utah Jazz will face the Denver Nuggets at home later this evening at 7pm MST. Jazz fans can watch the game on AT&T SportsNet, and can also tune into the game on 97.5FM or 1280AM.

Royce O'Neale (23) scores against the Denver Nuggets

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