DENVER, Jan. 15 (Ticker) -- Down the stretch, the Utah Jazz showed their veteran poise, and the Denver Nuggets showed they need to practice their free throws.

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Matt Harpring scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Karl Malone added 16 and 10 as the Jazz defeated the Nuggets for the eight time in 10 meetings, 92-81.

Denver led, 77-72, after a jumper by rookie Nene Hilario with 6:35 to play. But the Jazz held the Nuggets without a basket thereafter and took the lead for good, 81-79, on a layup by Harpring with 3:45 to play.

"Tonight we were a little sluggish at first," Harpring said. "It really took a fourth-quarter effort for us to win that game. With five minutes to go it was a game. We came back to the huddle and said we have to step it up if we're going to win this."

"He's played pretty effective for us because he gets around the basket and gets a foul," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Harpring. "He's got a little mid-range shot and he's been able to shoot some threes. He can guard some of the bigger guys at the 3. Some of the smaller guys he can post up some. He's done a terrific job to help our team be competitive."

Neither team scored in the next minute. After Hilario and Ryan Bowen missed layups amid heavy contact, John Stockton grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2:35 remaining.

Stockton made his first attempt from the line and missed the second, but he saw where the rebound was falling and beat the Nuggets to the loose ball. He was then tripped by rookie Junior Harrington, went back to the line and made two free throws to give Utah an 84-79 lead.

"Different guys did different things for us tonight," Malone said. "It was a really big rebound that Stockton made at the end. It was a really big win. Down the stretch we did all the fundamental things that we needed to do to win. We blocked out, blocked shots and got some turnovers."

The Nuggets, meanwhile, missed 4-of-8 free throws after Hilario's jumper and misfired on 13-of-30 overall.

"We had too many mistakes during the course of the game that kept us from winning," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "Too many dribbles, causing us to lose the ball in the paint, missing free throws and not hitting the open man. You cannot do that against a veteran team like Utah."

"We missed some big free throws," Bowen said. "We had a five-point lead with six minutes and then we went in a dry spell and let the lead slip away. We have to knock down our shots at the end of the game."

Stockton and Greg Ostertag contributed 13 points apiece and Andrei Kirilenko chipped in 11 for the Jazz, who have won seven of their last nine contests.

Hilario scored a season-high 24 points and Juwan Howard added 12 but were the only Nuggets to reach double figures en route to the team's third straight defeat. Denver is the lowest-scoring team in the league, averaging just 80.7 points.

"I am working hard and coming in early to work on my outside jump shot," Hilario said. "I am understanding that to utilize my speed I need to bring out the defenders for a good outside jump shot. I was just trying to play my part tonight, and take advantage when I could. It was a great to play against Karl Malone."

"He is a wonderful player," Sloan said of Hilario. "He's just going to do nothing but get better."

The game was tied after one quarter, 20-20, before Utah took a 42-36 edge into the break. The Jazz led, 66-62, heading into the fourth quarter.

Utah outscored Denver in the paint, 44-28, and controlled the boards, 44-37.

"We had our opportunities but just could not do it at the end," Bzdelik said. "I am not frustrated; rather, I am encouraged by what I see. We had four rookies out there at times against a very veteran team."