This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Just when it looked like Gordon Hayward and company would be able to coast to the finish line, the Utah Jazz found themselves in a fight.

And it was a fight they admit they might not have won a season ago.

"In previous years," forward Joe Ingles acknowledged, "we've probably crumbled a little bit."

That's why Jazz coach Quin Snyder was so happy to see his team fend off the Denver Nuggets, 105-98, on Saturday night.

"I was really pleased with how we responded when they did make that run," Snyder said. "There wasn't a panic in us."

They had clamped down defensively in the third quarter Saturday night against the Nuggets at the same time Hayward took over on the offensive end to build up a comfortable lead. But after leading by 23 with about nine minutes to play, things started to get a little nervy.

Denver knocked down four straight 3-pointers, including back-to-back buckets by guard Will Barton, and cut the Jazz lead down to 9 over the span of about 3:30.

Blame it on a mix of breakdowns and hot hands.

"I think we relaxed a little bit," Hayward said before adding, "They did a good job of breaking the paint and kicking out and guys were ready to shoot. They have some dangerous weapons, and they started knocking down shots."

The Jazz still lament late leads blown down during their stretch run last season, which cost them a coveted spot in the playoffs. This time around, however, they say they're better prepared to handle some crunch-time adversity.

"When you've got a five-point lead, you don't have to score. Just keep getting stops," point guard Shelvin Mack said. "Toward the end of the year we had a bunch of games and we blew those leads. We have the experience now."

The Jazz bent Saturday, but didn't break, never letting the Nuggets get closer than five in the final quarter.

"That's something we've talked about — the last part of the game, being better defensively and getting stops," Snyder said. "Tonight we made it harder at the end of the game. I liked seeing that. But we've got to do it longer and more consistently, because they minute you have those two, three breakdowns … all of a sudden all the work you've put in is — boom — it's gone, and the other team gets confidence and that changes the game."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @aaronfalk