The Denver Nuggets will face off against the Utah Jazz in their first Las Vegas Summer League tournament game at Cox Pavilion on Monday night. Tournament play started on Wednesday, but the Nuggets finished with a top five record in preliminary play and received a first round bye.
Denver is coming off a loss to the Miami Heat where rookie Jamal Murray played his best game of Summer League, scoring 29 points. Murray is averaging 16.3 points per game, leading the Nuggets in scoring amongst players who have played at least two games.
Seven Nuggets have played every game in Summer League so far – Ondrej Balvin, Petr Cornelie, Jimmer Fredette, Juan Hernangomez, Jamal Murray, JaKarr Sampson, and Axel Toupane. Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris played in the first game but have been resting due to their upcoming participation with the USA Basketball Select team.
The Utah Jazz won their opening round matchup against the Portland Trailblazers on Wednesday.
Trey Lyles, the leading scorer of the Las Vegas Summer League at 29.0 points per game, rested against Portland but may see action tonight. The Nuggets’ backcourt have their hands full with Lyles, Aaron Craft, and Spencer Butterfield all capable of scoring in bunches.
Up front, Hernangomez and Cornelie will be dealing with Tibor Pleiss and Joel Bolomboy. Both Pleiss and Bolomboy had solid games against Portland, combining for 34 points and 17 rebounds. The Nuggets will also have to defend the three-point line against a Jazz team that has shot 38.9% from deep in the Las Vegas Summer League.
The game starts at 6 p.m. MST and will be televised on NBA TV.