Denver Nuggets take on Utah Jazz in the opening game of the playoff round in American Basketball League 2019-20 on Monday afternoon.
Team Preview
Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz are facing each other for the second time this month as Denver won the last outing. Nuggets locked into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and they have 3-matches losing streak, the most recent defeat came against the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The first half advantage took the game away from Denver to suffer 117-109 defeat. Dozier led Nuggets with 20 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes while Monte Morris scored 16 points in the loss. Nikola Jokic has been pivotal in the center, averaging 19.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Nuggets come third in offensive rebound percentage in the seeding games at 27.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Jazz are locked up at 6th seed in Western Conference. They suffered 134-132 defeat to Nuggets on August 08. Utah is coming off a close victory against San Antonio Spurs. Jazz made a solid start by taking the first quarter 41-24 and carried the advantage despite being losing the final three quarters. Rayjon Tucker led the Jazz with 18 points from 24 minutes coming off the bench. Bradley added 10 rebounds and six assists. In the absence of Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert is a key player for Utah. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell leads Jazz with 24.0 points and 4.3 assists per game. Utah hit 40.4 percent in three regular-season meetings against Nuggets.
Starting possible lineups
Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray (PG), Torrey Craig (SG), Michael Porter Jr. (SF), Paul Millsap (PF), Nikola Jokic (C)
Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell (PG/SG), Jordan Clarkson (PG/SG), Joe Ingles (SG/SF), Royce O'Neale (SF/PF), Rudy Gobert (C)
Key Players
Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic (C): 19.9 points, 9.7 rebounds
Jamal Murray (PG): 18.5 points, 4 rebounds
Paul Millsap (PF): 11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds
Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell (SG): 24 points, 4.4 rebounds
Jordan Clarkson (PG/SG): 15.6 points, 2.8 rebounds
Rudy Gobert (C): 15.1 points, 13.5 rebounds
