Al Jefferson scored 28 points and Derrick Favors made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 41.5 seconds as the Utah Jazz rallied for a 105-103 win over Denver on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Nuggets, who had a four-game winning streak snapped, had a chance to tie on their final possession. But point guard Ty Lawson dribbled away the final 3.6 seconds and the Jazz escaped.
Favors finished with 19 points and Jamaal Tinsley added 15 as Utah improved to 6-0 at home.
The Jazz opened the game by committing five turnovers in the first five minutes.
Still, Denver owned only a 12-8 lead before defenseless Utah allowed the Nuggets to convert 11 of their final 14 possessions.
Despite eight points on 4-for-4 shooting by Jefferson, the Jazz trailed at the end of the first quarter, 35-24.
Utah fought back early in the second quarter and closed within four, 45-41, on a basket by Favors with seven minutes left.
Denver quickly counter-attacked, however, and Danilo Gallinari’s uncontested three-pointer from the corner triggered a 12-3 run, which included back-to-back dunks by Andre Iguodala and Kenneth Faried.
The Nuggets eventually took a 65-54 lead at halftime. JaVale McGee and Faried scored 10 points each to lead Denver, which shot 73 percent.
Denver still owned a 67-55 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter. But Randy Foye and Marvin Williams each scored five points and the Jazz used a 14-0 run to get back into the game.
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It was 84-84 heading into the wild fourth quarter.
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