Through two games of their Western Conference quarter-final series, the Utah Jazz have looked like the better team – and they'd love to be rewarded for that edge as they face the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 in Orlando on Friday afternoon. The Jazz bounced back from a gut-wrenching overtime loss in Game 1 with a dominant 19-point triumph in Game 2.
- Date/Time: August 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Arena: AdventHealth Arena
- TV Coverage: TNT, ALT, ATTSN-RM
- Sportsbook Odds: Nuggets -1.5 | O/U 220 (Line History)
- Nuggets vs Jazz (Matchup Report)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Game 4 odds opened with the Nuggets as slight 1 1/2-point favorites, and that has held steady at the majority of sportsbooks. The total of 220 has dipped by a point in most spots.
Denver News & Notes
The Nuggets boasted a top-10 scoring defense during the regular season, but they have had no answer for the Jazz – and guard Donovan Mitchell in particular. Mitchell has erupted for 87 points through the first two games of the series, shooting nearly 62 percent from the field to help Utah average 124.5 points en route to a split.
The good news for Denver: despite getting blown out in Game 2, the offense actually fared well. The Nuggets shot 45.7 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from 3-point range; there were simply outdone by a Utah side that knocked down 20 3-pointers and finished with a 48-28 advantage in points in the paint. Nikola Jokic leads the way at 28.5 points per game.
Utah News & Notes
Mitchell overcame a sluggish first-half performance in emphatic fashion Wednesday, scoring 21 third-quarter points to help the Jazz take an insurmountable 27-point lead into the final quarter. The hot shooting is particularly encouraging for Jazz fans, after Mitchell shot just 30.4 percent from the field in three regular-season meetings with the Nuggets.
Shooting proficiency will likely be the story for the remainder of this series, however long that might be. The Jazz have the skill to make life miserable for the Nuggets – particularly from deep, where Utah led the NBA with a 38-percent success rate during the regular season. Denver is no slouch itself, having shot 51.5 percent from long range so far in the series.
Betting Pick: OVER 219 (-110)
These teams are shooting the lights out right now – and they have the gunners to sustain this pace over the entire series. This total still feels a few points too low, even with some regression from deep.
- Utah is 7-13 ATS in its last 20 games.
- The OVER is 10-0 for the Nuggets in the bubble.
- Denver SF Will Barton is out for today's game.
