The Utah Jazz opened what many are considering a new era for the franchise with a 109-97 win over the Denver Nuggets Sunday night in their 2026-27 preseason opener in Boulder, Colorado.
Lauri Markkanen led the way with 17 points in just 14 minutes on 5 of 12 shooting (3 of 7 from behind the 3-point line). Starters Keyonte George (15) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (11) also scored in double figures, as did Blake Hinson (14) and Ace Bailey (10) off the bench.
Darryn Peterson, the second pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, started at shooting guard ahead of Bailey and scored three points on 1 of 5 shooting in 19 minutes. The rookie added six rebounds, two assists and a steal (Jusuf Nurkic started at center).
Sixteen players saw the floor for the Jazz, with Terrell Brown Jr. being the only healthy player who did not play. Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski and Josh Green were held out because of injury.
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Utah held a 10-point lead at 36-26 at the end of the first quarter and didn’t look back in getting the win over a Nuggets team that was without Jamal Murray.
Julian Strawther led Denver with 14 points off the bench, and Aaron Gordon was the only other Nugget to finish in double figures, scoring 12.
The two sides will face each other again on Tuesday night, this time at the new-look Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
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