It doesn’t get a lot easier for the Denver Nuggets moving forward. First up, the Utah Jazz. Here are 3 things to watch as the two teams square off.
The Denver Nuggets really don’t get a break, huh.
Denver, fresh off the heels of a huge win over the Thunder, must already switch their attention to a Jazz team who has given the Nuggets issues in the past.
But, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The victory over the Thunder was very important for a number of reasons.
The confidence boost can’t be forgotten about — as this marks the Nuggets fifth straight win over the Thunder. It also builds some momentum for a tough stretch run.
But above all else, it separated the Nuggets from the rest of the Western Conference for the No. 2 seed. The Thunder are still in third place, but now sit four games back of the Nuggets.
“That’s a really quality basketball team over there,” Malone said after the win. “I couldn’t be prouder of our guys. … A hell of a win for us.”
Denver, now 42-18, also clinched the season series over OKC, giving them the tiebreaker for potential playoff seeding.
Next up is a Jazz team that holds the sixth seed with a record of 33-26. The Jazz are just 4-4 in their last eight after a nice streak had them climbing in the West before the All-Star break.
But they still have Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert — both of which Denver actually sent to Utah in draft day trades. And though neither were All-Stars this year, both had legitimate cases.
Here are 3 things to watch as Denver looks to stretch its winning streak to six games.