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The Denver Nuggets will try to cool down the Utah Jazz when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center on Saturday night.
The Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns on Friday night for their second consecutive win to even up their record at 17-17 after struggling through a stretch of losing five of six games at the end of December. Utah relies on their front court players to carry the load which worked out well against the Suns. Center Al Jefferson scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds while power forward Paul Millsap added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nuggets will try to bounce back from a loss on Thursday to the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. The only good news from Thursday was that Ty Lawson returned tot he lineup after sitting out the prior game with a strained Achilles tendon.
The Northwest Division rivals are currently battling for similar real estate in the Western Conference standings. The Nuggets are in eighth place in the conference standings just one game ahead of the Jazz. Both teams are part of a five-team group within two games of each other battling for the final two playoff spots.
The two teams split their previous two meeting in November with the Nuggets winning at home 104-84 on Nov. 9. The Jazz won the rematch on Nov. 26 in Utah, 105-103.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. MT and will be televised on Altitude.