It was the second time in 17 days that Utah collapsed before taking a shot or free throw. The New York Knicks led the Jazz 23-0 en route to a 146-112 victory on December 5.
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The biggest streak to open an NBA game was the Los Angeles Lakers’ 29-0 run against Sacramento on February 4, 1987.
Denver shot 68.2% in the first quarter and made 15 of 28 3-pointers in the first half, five from Murray. He scored 27 points and Cameron Johnson was 6 of 6 from deep to finish with 20.
Nikola Jokic had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, and Peyton Watson scored 20 after missing two games.
Jokic recorded his 14th triple-double of the season and 178th of his career when he fed Watson for a layup with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points and Keyonte George scored 20 for Utah, which has lost three straight.
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The Nuggets shot 7 of 9 to start the game, while Utah missed its first 10 field goal attempts and committed two turnovers. Brice Sensabaugh’s corner 3-pointer with 7:06 left in the first made the score 19-3, but Denver kept moving forward, leading 33-5 with 4:42 left in the period.
The Nuggets led 94-67 before a 13-2 run by the Jazz cut the deficit to 17 at the end of the third quarter. They were trailing 105-88 early in the fourth when Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished with 21 points, hit three 3-pointers in 46 seconds.
Next
Jazz: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
Nuggets: against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
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NBA AP: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA