The Jazz had been hoping to make a statement in Wednesday's opener against the defending Northwest Division champion Nuggets. Instead, they'll have to settle for regrouping at home against the Clippers. It's a familiar story to Jazz followers, frustrated by the team's inability to win on the road. The Jazz watched an eight-point lead vanish in the third quarter and ended up falling 114-104 to the Nuggets, who finished six games ahead of them in the division in 2008-09. The Jazz can take comfort in drawing almost the perfect opponent on paper for their home opener. The Clippers are 1-34 all-time at EnergySolutions Arena, losing last season's games by a combined 43 points.
"I'm always confident when we go home, period," Williams said. "We're a good home team. Coming off a tough loss like this, we're going to be ready to go. Despite a team's record, it's a big game for us. You don't want to start a season off 0-2, so we'll be ready."
NUGGETS 114, JAZZ 105: The Jazz were done in against Denver by a dismal game from Carlos Boozer, who made just one of his first 11 shots and finished 3-for-14, as well as a 9-0 run by the Nuggets to start the fourth quarter as Deron Williams rested on the bench. Rookie Ty Lawson became the latest Nuggets reserve to come off the bench and enjoy a big game against the Jazz, joining Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith in recent seasons. Lawson had 17 points and six assists, including 11 points in the fourth quarter.
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