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The Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 106-96 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams

Posted at 9:54 PM, Oct 18, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-18 23:54:20-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 106-96 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.

The new-look Jazz -- without Gordon Hayward and George Hill -- trailed most of the night before Alec Burks took over with a spectacular fourth quarter. The athletic seventh-year wing has missed most of the last three seasons due to a litany of injuries, but showed no lingering effects.

Burks scored 12 points during a 25-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters. The Jazz trailed 83-78 going into the fourth quarter. Burks threw down a dunk, hit a pair 3-pointers and then gave the Jazz a 94-85 lead off a reverse layup. He finished with 16.

Utah picked up the defense in the final period, which helped extend the run to 31-5 and put away Denver.

Derrick Favors added 14 and Ricky Rubio had 10 assists in his first game with the Jazz.

Will Barton led the Nuggets with 23 points and Paul Millsap added 19.

The Nuggets took a 58-49 lead into halftime, sparked by a 17-4 first-quarter run. Denver was 9 for 16 from 3-point range in the first half.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Jamal Murray started at point guard and Emmanuel Mudiay came off the bench. ... Denver was outscored 28-13 in the fourth quarter. ... Nikola Jokicfinished with seven points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Jazz: Rodney Hood was pulled out of the starting lineup at the last second due to gastric distress. Rookie Donovan Mitchell made his first career start in his place. Hood entered later in the first quarter. ... Dante Exum (left shoulder) and Raul Neto (right hamstring) were both out.

YOUNG DUO

Nuggets coach Michael Malone downplayed the significance of which of his young point guards started the game. Denver fans are eager to see how the two early draft picks play together and how the minutes are distributed. Mudiay was the No. 7 overall pick in 2015 and Murray was No. 7 in 2016.

"It's going to be a great challenge for them," Malone said. "We feel confident in both Jamal and Emanuel. They're both going to get great opportunities to play regardless of who's starting.

"When they're struggling, the great about our team is we're not solely relying on those guys to carry our team. We play through our big guys so much that the true point guard is really not around that much anymore. Nikola and Paul are our facilitators, our playmakers."

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Denver hosts George Hill and the Sacramento Kings in their home opener on Saturday.