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Game Recap: Randy Foye's revenge as Denver Nuggets beat Utah Jazz 101-94

Game #80: Utah Jazz (24-55) @ Denver Nuggets (34-55)
Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
April 12, 2014 -- 7:00 pm MT
TV: ROOT Sports -- RADIO: 1280 am / 97.5 fm

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
April Game Streams -- Denver Stiffs -- Jazz vs Nuggets coverage

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I don't know what to say. The Utah Jazz were supposed to be tired, and the Denver Nuggets rested. They were on a two game winning streak against playoff teams. And the Jazz were on a three game losing streak, and on the road. No Marvin Williams, Brandon Rush, Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson, JaVale McGee, or J.J. Hickson. When the game started Gordon Hayward went bonkers in the first quarter -- scoring on the opening jumper, then converting two And-1s. He didn't stop there, and neither did the Jazz. Denver was in a funk that Utah capitalized on and then both teams got really bad, very quickly. Alec Burks had two quick fouls in the first, then picked up a third early in the second. Randy Foye was looking okay, and Denver was active, but not making anything. The halftime score was 44-33 for Utah -- thanks in large part to all of Denver's bigs (except Timofey Mozgov and Kenneth Faried) being injured, and Enes Kanter being good.

The third quarter was . . . forgettable. Except that The Manimal scored 13 points in the quarter and the Nuggets start the fourth down by only one after a quarter ending slam by Faried. Crazy.

Utah started to push ahead early in the fourth with some solid play by Richard Jefferson, and Denver kept fouling early. They had four team fouls with 8:31 to play in the quarter. The Nuggets knocked on the door a few times, and tied the game with 7:15 to go. But Gordon Hayward got fouled again, and Denver was over the limit. The Free throw parade began.

Denver took the lead for the first time on a Randy Foye three with 6:50 left. Then Evan Fournier made the craziest shot I have ever seen in my life. AND it was an And-1.


Wow. But the game was far from over by that point, even if the Nuggets led by four. The very next play Derrick Favors finished a pick and roll and got to the line. But his missed the free throw after. Fournier hit a three, G-Time went to the line, Mozgov split a pair, and Enes Kanter hammered home another dunk. This is the game we were going to end up getting with 4:19 left, and the score Den 84 - Utah 82.

Nope. It was all Nuggets threes and man, ouch. I was worried that the Jazz, who were leading for the entire game up until the middle of the fourth quarter, were going to win this game. And thus, waste the fact that the Boston Celtics won tonight too.


Luckily, that didn't happen. Randy Foye made sure that didn't happen. He had a very good game, and Evan Fournier and Kenneth Faried kept up with him. It is sad to lose to a team that's missing so many good players. Especially when YOUR team was up by 13 points at one point, and the other team barely scored 30 by halftime and they ended up scoring over 100 -- but the important thing is that we lost, go #Wiggins #Parker #Exum #Embiid #Anyone.