Jazz Lose to Nuggets, 117-101: 3 Winners, 2 Losers

The Denver Nuggets flipped the script on the Utah Jazz in a rematch of their season-opening loss with a convincing win, 117-101. Bones Hyland came off the bench for Denver to lead all scorers with 26 points, while Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 22.

Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort. The Nuggets got out to a fast start, lighting up the scoreboard with 35 points in the first quarter and building a 13-point lead at halftime.

The second half wasn’t any different as the doors were blown wide open, with the Nuggets stretching the lead to 29 points with 7:52 in the fourth quarter. Denver took advantage of some hot three-point shooting, and it was never close as the Nuggets improved to 4-2 on the year.

Just like every game, some players shined, and others not so much. Let’s break it down.

Loser: Utah's Three-Point Shooting

It’s a make-or-miss league, and Utah struggled from start to finish from long distance. Utah finished the game only making 10 three-point shots on 39 attempts at a 25.6% clip.

Jordan Clarkson was cold out of the gates, finishing with only six points while shooting 0-for-7 on his threes. The Nuggets shot 45.9% from deep, making 17-for-37.

Winner: Ochai Agbaji

The first-round pick out of Kansas took Rudy Gay’s place in the rotation with his first minutes as a pro. Agbaji looked comfortable, scoring nine points on 4-for-7 shooting.

The Jazz are going to need to find ways to give Agbaji more live reps to develop, as he was a key component that arrived via the Donovan Mitchell trade with Cleveland.

Loser: Jazz Schedule

Utah is entering a tough stretch as they play seven games against some quality opponents in 11 days, including two back-to-backs. There's no time to rest as the Jazz travel back home Saturday night for a contest with a tough Memphis Grizzlies team.

Jazz fans are going to find out soon what path the new-look roster is truly headed down.

Winner: Lauri Markkanen

It feels like we can pencil Markkanen in the winner category after every game. The Finnish 7-footer produced a double-double on 7-for-14 shooting.

Markkanen not only showed he could put up points, but he can do it in an efficient manner. Through six games, Markkanen is clearly the best player on the court and Utah's most valuable asset, as he is under team control through 2024 at a bargain of an average of $17 million per year.

Winner: Purple Uniforms

The Jazz sported their throwback purple jerseys with the mountain design across the front for the first time on the road. The newer version has some minor tweaks from the originals that were worn from 1996-2004, but they’ve gotten the most positive feedback across social media circles.

Utah returns home on Saturday night against the Grizzlies with a 7:00 pm MDT tip-off time.

Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.

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