The Utah Jazz (11 - 14) held down the Denver Nuggets (11 - 15) in a 97 - 88 win on Friday, The Jazz are known as one of the best defensive teams in the league and that carried them on Friday. They held the Nuggets to just 15 points in the fourth quarter and to 6 - for - 28 shooting from three - point range in the game. Utah went on a 70 run in the middle of the fourth quarter and that really set the teams apart to give the Jazz the win. That snapped a four - game losing streak for Utah and a hot six - game stretch for Denver Denver came into this game winning five of their last six and played well enough to win here. They just could n't hit jumpers, as they shot below 25 percent on shots outside of the key. Will Barton led the team with 16 points scored off the bench and continues to show his versatility and growth. Joffrey Lauvergne also played well, as he recorded a 12 points - 13 rebound double - double in the loss. This team has been playing better lately and this is a tough task playing in Utah against a hungry Jazz team. The Nuggets will look to bounce - back when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. Utah had lost four - straight coming into this, so it was a much needed win. Gordon Hayward was the star in the game, as he tallied 26 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win. No other player scored more than 13 points, but they did have nine players score at least five points. The offense has really been struggling this season, but they'll hope a 47 percent shooting night will get the team going. Utah will look to keep this momentum going on Monday against the Phoenix Suns, another poor defensive team.
["PlayerStat(G,'Joffrey Lauvergne') has 12 Assists ,has 13 Points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Will Barton') has 16 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Gordon Hayward') has 4 Assists ,has 26 Points ,has 5 Total rebounds ."]