(Sports Network) - The surprising Utah Jazz are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals and will try to send the reeling Denver Nuggets packing tonight at the Pepsi Center.
10:30 P.M. EST: Jazz Try To Send Nuggets Home Tonight In Game 5
The Nuggets are on the brink of elimination after Carlos Boozer tallied 31 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday in Utah's 117-106 Game 4 victory in the West quarters.
Boozer was a force down low, making 13-of-19 shots for the Jazz, who have won three straight games to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Utah, which played its first Sunday home game since May 11, 2008 due to the Mormon culture in Salt Lake City, beat the Nuggets at home for the seventh time in eight games and 26th in the last 30 overall.
"We have to find a way to win one (more) game," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "Every night you step out there, it's the same old corny saying, 'One game at a time.' Hopefully, we can stay focused and try to win the next game we play."
Deron Williams added 24 points and 13 assists, joining the Cincinnati Royals' Oscar Robertson (1965 Eastern Division semifinals vs. Philadelphia), the Suns' Kevin Johnson (1989 Western Conference finals against the LA Lakers) and the Lakers' Magic Johnson (1990 Western Conference semifinals against Phoenix) as the only players in NBA history to register at least 20 points and 10 or more assists in each of the first four games of a playoff series.
C.J. Miles had a playoff career-high 21 points. Wesley Matthews contributed 18 points for Utah.
Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who struggled due to their lack of ball distribution. Denver, which was 44-7 in the regular season when it posted 20 or more assists and 9-22 when it didn't, recorded only 13 assists as a team on Sunday.
Chauncey Billups had only 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and Kenyon Martin added 14 points and nine rebounds in defeat.
“I thought we had the momentum in the first quarter, but Nene missed a dunk, and it seemed like the momentum changed,” said Nuggets acting head coach Adrian Dantley. “We have to be smarter and more efficient on the offensive end.”
Dantley continues to lead what looks like a fractured team as head coach George Karl attempts to recover from aggressive treatment for neck and throat cancer.
Anthony said he couldn't beat the Jazz all by himself while J.R. Smith "Tweeted" that the Nuggets were selfish.
Anthony backtracked after practice on Tuesday.
“A lot of people took what I said the wrong way,” the All-Star said. “But I talked to my teammates. They know what I meant. We talk basketball every day, so they know I’m not pointing nobody out.”
Smith, meanwhile, went back to Tweeting more positive things.
“Can’t stop thinking bout this game coming up!” Smith wrote.
The Jazz continue to go about their business without a pair of starters, center Mehmet Okur and forward Andrei Kirilenko.
Okur suffered a ruptured left Achilles in Game 1 and is out for the playoffs (three-to-six months total), while Kirilenko, who also missed 15 of the Jazz’s final 17 regular season games due to a series of calf injuries, flew to Los Angeles this week to start a rehab program. The Russian veteran, who averaged 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.43 steals and 1.22 blocks in 58 games this season, could possibly return for the second round of the playoffs if the Jazz can advance past Denver.
The Nuggets edged the Jazz for their second straight division title and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They’re in the postseason for a seventh straight year and recorded 50-plus wins for a third straight season.
Sloan’s Jazz, who are the fifth seed, have made it to the playoffs four consecutive years and have posted 50 or more victories in three out of the last four campaigns. The Jazz have finished with a winning record four straight seasons and a remarkable 23 times in the last 24 years.
This first-round playoff matchup marks the fourth time Utah and Denver have collided in the postseason, with the Jazz holding a 2-1 edge in series victories.
Denver took three of four meetings with their Northwest rivals during the regular season.
Game 6 of this best-of-seven series, if necessary, will be on Friday in Salt Lake City.
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