It's Howard Eisley compensating for five turnovers with six assists.

It's Kirilenko, Matt Harpring and crew frustrating Anthony yet again, to the point he is 8-of-29 from the field — 3-of-15 in Saturday's blowout, 5-of-14 Monday — in two games against the Jazz this season.

It's Utah driving its 15-point advantage to as high as 22 in the third quarter, then refusing to let Denver cut that lead to single digits until the game's final 90 seconds.

It's Kirilenko doing what he did.

In a word, it's hustle.

"They came out and competed," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik, his struggling team now 1-3, said of the Jazz after losing to them for the second time in three nights.

"They're an excellent basketball team — very deep, very physical," Bzdelik added. "They wear on you, and they have weapons all over the place."

Even ones still firing when the game is out of reach, and the pain seems hardly worth the gain.

Not than anyone who has been around a Sloan-coached club long should be surprised the arsenal was still out long after the outcome was no longer in doubt.

"It's nothing new to me. I see it every night," Bell said when asked about Kirilenko's late-night dive. "The last play of the game, we're up . . . and he dives at a loose ball at half-court. That's the persona of this team that we take our cues from."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com