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Prior to Utah's game against Denver on Wednesday night, Quin Snyder was asked what the Jazz needed to do to improve their defense.

"A lot," he said.

The Jazz must have heard their coach because their defense — especially early — was vastly improved against the Nuggets.

Denver missed its first eight field goal attempts, shot only 33 percent in the first half and never seemed comfortable on offense during Utah's 108-83 victory at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Jazz played with far more determination on defense than in back-to-back weekend losses at Houston and Denver. The Rockets scored 111 points; the Nuggets poured in 105 on Sunday.

"The last game, I think, we ran into some fatigue — some mental fatigue — and that led to breakdowns," Snyder said before Wednesday's rematch. "I know we're further along than we showed that game."

Once again, the Jazz played without power forward Derrick Favors, who remains sidelined with a bone contusion in his knee. But point guard George Hill returned from an eight-game absence because of a thumb injury and Rudy Gobert avoided foul trouble, which limited his effectiveness in the game at Denver.

"We have to be even better within our system … to win without Derrick," Snyder said. "He's not going to come [limping] out of the tunnel like Willis Reed, so everybody has to pull together."

The Jazz's defense helped propel them to big leads in the first half: 14-0, 19-3, 22-5 and 36-20.

After the Nuggets used a 16-2 run to tie the game at 45, Utah stopped the Nuggets on seven of their final eight possessions of the half and regained a 53-47 lead.

Besides the availability of Hill and Gobert's ability to avoid foul trouble, the Jazz's defensive effort was aided by a thigh injury to Denver's Danilo Gallinari. He averages 16.8 points per game. In last Sunday's win over Utah, he finished with 13 points and eight assists.

Nugget coach Mike Malone hoped Juancho Hernangomez, Alonzo Gee and Darrell Arthur would step up, but they combined for five first-half points.

"I have said many, many times, the strength of our roster is the depth we have," Malone said. "Gallo has been playing a lot of minutes … so guys like Juancho and Gee have to take advantage of the minutes that are [available] tonight."

Twitter: @sluhm