Carlos Boozer returned from his calf injury.
Paul Millsap returned to the bench.
The Utah Jazz continued their winning ways.
Boozer and Millsap combined for 35 points and 19 rebounds Saturday night, helping Utah score a 116-106 win over Denver at EnergySolutions Arena.
The Jazz's eighth straight win came in Boozer's first game since he suffered strained calf on Jan. 27 against Portland.
"I felt great," said Boozer, who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. "I think I'm going to continue to get better and better."
Boozer played 34 minutes in his comeback game, despite early foul trouble.
"He did OK," coach Jerry Sloan said. "He hasn't been able to practice [except] a day or so. He's been doing a lot of work on his own. But he came through it -- it looks like -- pretty good. That's the most important thing."
Millsap scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots before fouling out with 4:26 remaining.
Millsap had averaged 23 points on 61 percent shooting as Boozer's replacement, but Sloan didn't consider keeping him in the starting lineup.
"You have to have somebody who can come in off the bench," Sloan said. "I can't start eight or 10 guys.
".... The bottom line is, whoever steps out there has to play and, when you have a guy who can come off the bench and give you something, that's a tremendous asset."
Boozer played a huge role down the stretch, when the Nuggets tried to finish off rallying from a 17-point deficit.
He scored four of the Jazz's final six points, all on tough, close-in baskets.
Just as importantly, Boozer stripped Denver's Kenyon Martin with just under two minutes remaining.
Utah owned a 112-104 lead at the time and, following the turnover, Wesley Matthews was fouled in the open court.
His two free throws made it 114-104 with 1:45 remaining.
Martin "... is a tough dude," Boozer said. "He's one of those guys you'd rather have take a jump shot. He's got quickness like a three-man -- like [Andrei Kirilenko]. So he's going to try to attack you."
Boozer won this battle: "I knew he was going to drive right. That's his favorite thing to do when he faces you up. So as he drove I got a little piece of the ball -- enough to knock it out of his hand."
