Jazz, Nuggets battle in Utah

Utah owns a four-game lead over the second-place Nuggets for the top spot in the division.

The Nuggets enter tonight’s game on a five-game winning streak. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Denver over the Seattle SuperSonics, 117-112, on Tuesday at KeyArena.

In just his second game back from a 15-game suspension for his role in a December 16 fight with the Knicks, Anthony hit 12-of-26 shots from the field in 41 minutes of action.

Allen Iverson contributed 21 points and 10 assists in the win over the SuperSonics for Denver, which attempts to win a season-best sixth straight game against Utah. J.R. Smith had 20 points and Nene recorded 17 points and seven boards for the Nuggets, who used a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take control versus Seattle.

Denver is a respectable 10-7 on the road this season. The Nuggets return home to host the New Jersey Nets on Saturday and the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday at the Pepsi Center.

Utah tries to bounce back from a tough loss, as it plays the finale of a three-game homestand. On Wednesday, Eddie Jones drained a jumper as time expired in overtime to give the struggling Memphis Grizzlies a wild 132-130 win over the Jazz at EnergySoutions Arena.

Carlos Boozer poured in a career-high 39 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the loss to Memphis for Utah, while Deron Williams dished out a career-high 21 assists for the Jazz, who had their four-game winning streak halted. Mehmet Okur went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 27 points and 11 boards.

The Jazz are 15-5 at home this season. They will visit the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Saturday at the Ford Center.

This is the second of four meetings this season between the division rivals. On January 6th, Williams scored 28 points and handed out 12 assists as the Jazz topped Denver, 96-84, at the Pepsi Center.

Denver has lost two straight and four of its last five at Utah. The Jazz have won four in a row in the series.