They played as if the NBA's Northwest Division was on the line.

Which maybe it was, even if February, March and April still await.

Or so the Jazz, the Nuggets and a sold-out audience of 19,911 seemed to act as Utah held on for a 116-111 victory that ended Denver's five-game winning streak and electrified EnergySolutions Arena.

"It was a lot more intense," Jazz point guard Deron Williams said of Friday night's affair compared to other January outings. "The crowd was definitely into it."

"Our crowd's been great all year," guard Derek Fisher added, "but you could tell that there was a little bit extra buzz in the building — rightfully so, with two great players coming in."

Yet, for all Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson did Friday — and it was plenty, with Anthony scoring a game-high 37 points on 14-of-28 shooting from the field and Iverson adding another 33 points — it was the most curious cast of Jazz characters who stole the show and put 29-15 Utah five games up on 22-18 Denver in a Northwest race that may be far from done.

The usuals did their part, as Carlos Boozer had a team-high 25 points and 19 rebounds for his 33rd double-double, Williams pitched in a double-double with 16 points and 12 assists, Mehmet Okur produced 14 points and Matt Harpring contributed 11 off the bench.

But with starting shooting guard Andrei Kirilenko exiting in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle and not returning, the Jazz tapped much deeper into the bench than usual.

And everyone who was called on came through, especially rookies Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap and veteran Gordan Giricek.

"You need numbers of guys at different times coming up with key performances," Fisher said. "The good teams have that — Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio. They have guys that can come off the bench and step up their performance when needed."

Utah had it Friday too.

Giricek, who lost his starting shooting job to Fisher earlier this month, finished with a season high-matching 13 points, including a big 3-pointer with just more than eight minutes remaining.

Brewer matched his season scoring high as well, scoring 12 on 5-of-6 shooting in his first game after spending the past five watching from the sideline.

He also flustered Anthony a bit as well, including a fourth-quarter steal that preceded Giricek's trey.

But it was backup forward Millsap who was on Anthony for the final minute-plus, which is when things really went awry for the Nuggets.