Mehmet Okur had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Deron Williams added 19 points and 11 assists, and the Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 124-97 Saturday night to strengthen their hopes of home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Jazz won three of four against their Northwest Division rivals for the third straight season and kept the Nuggets from moving closer to the final Western Conference playoff berth. Denver still controls its own postseason destiny with two games remaining.
Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer each scored 20 points and Jason Hart added 12 for the Jazz, who improved to 53-27 and have their most wins since going 53-29 in 2000-01.
Allen Iverson scored 28 and Carmelo Anthony had 22 points for the Nuggets, who rallied from a 16-point deficit to take a brief lead but never recovered after a 12-2 run by the Jazz late in the third quarter.