Faried helps Nuggets rally past Jazz 101-94

DENVER (AP) Kenneth Faried scored 24 points and pulled down 21 rebounds Saturday night in the short-handed Denver Nuggets' 101-94 come-from-behind win over the Utah Jazz.

Randy Foye added 26 points and Evan Fornier 23 for the Nuggets, who trailed most of the night before sending Utah to its fourth straight loss and evening the season series with their rivals at two games each.

Foye's 3-pointer with 6:54 left gave Denver its first lead of the night at 77-76.

Seconds later, Fornier made the most unlikely of baskets. He was driving in to the lane when he got tripped and let go of the ball as he fell backward into the paint. The ball fluttered through the net just as he hit the floor, and his subsequent free throw put Denver on top 80-76.

Foye and Fornier teamed up for back-to-back 3s that gave the Nuggets a 90-82 lead with three minutes left.

Gordon Hayward led Utah with 23 points, and Enes Kanter added 22 points and 14 rebounds.

The Nuggets scored a season-low 34 points in the first half, three below their previous futility mark set at Atlanta on March 15. But the Jazz only managed 44 first-half points themselves.

The teams combined to go 0-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half in a display befitting two teams headed for the NBA draft lottery this summer instead of their usual playoff perch.

The Nuggets started the night with nine players available, but quickly lost reserve forward Darrell Arthur, who's been bothered by a strained left knee for two weeks. Arthur was unable to jump and left the game after logging just two minutes in the first quarter.

With such a short-handed bench, forward Wilson Chandler returned to action for Denver after missing 10 games with a strained left groin. He scored nine points in 21 minutes.

NOTES: Utah F Marvin Williams missed his second straight game with a bruised left knee. ... The Nuggets said Arthur was day to day. ... Nuggets PG Ty Lawson missed his fourth straight game with a strained left ankle.

---

Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton