Bryon Russell scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half as the Jazz continued their home dominance of the Denver Nuggets with a 106-97 victory.
In the playoffs each of the last 19 seasons, the Jazz started slowly this campaign, losing 11 of their first 17 games. But Utah has gone 14-6 since that start, moving a season-high three games over .500.
"There's always room for improvement," Jazz guard John Stockton said. "This team has a lot of potential to get better as time goes on."
 John Stockton and the Jazz are finding harmony after a rocky start to the season. Kent Horner/NBAE/Getty Images |
"I thought we played better Saturday night than we did today," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "The outcome of the ballgame wasn't the same, but I thought we played better the other night."
Karl Malone scored 26 points to lead the Jazz, who beat Denver at the Delta Center for the 11th straight time, dating to December 7, 1996.
Nick Van Exel netted 26 points and rookie Chris Anderson, playing in just his third game, added a season-high 17 for the Nuggets.
Denver has lost 11 of its last 13 games overall and at 11-25 has the worst record in the Western Conference.
"It was a tough game," Denver coach Mike Evans said. "I thought we played hard. I thought we did well in a lot of categories tonight but the glaring category was that they shot like 8-for-13, 8-for-15 from the 3-point line, and we were like 3-for-13."
Just past the midway point of the second quarter, the Jazz held a two-point lead before using a 18-8 spurt to close the half to open a double-digit advantage.
Backup point guard John Crotty started the surge with a 3-pointer from the right sideline and Russell, who had five points in the burst, capped it with a shot from beyond the arc with 55 seconds left in the half.
Stockton and Crotty each had their way with the Denver backcourt, combining for 26 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds.
Denver swingman James Posey played in the backcourt, but at 6-8, he had his hands full with the quicker Stockton and Crotty. Posey had 16 points, but clearly was a liability on the defensive end.
Anderson, who had scored two points in his previous two games, converted a pair of free throws with 4:40 left in the third quarter, pulling Denver within 64-61. But that was as close as they would get.
Crotty drilled a long 3-pointer and rookie Jarron Collins had consecutive baskets, fueling an 11-2 run that made it 75-63 with 2:29 left in the period. Crotty went 5-of-6 from the field.
Malone netted eight points in the period as the Jazz held a 78-70 advantage heading into the final quarter. Malone finished 10-of-18 from the field with eight assists and six rebounds.
The Nuggets got as close as five points in the fourth quarter, but Utah regained control and took an 88-78 lead with 6:29 left on Malone's 18-footer.
Utah shot 54 percent (42-of-78) while holding the Nuggets to 43 percent (34-of-79).