Utah Jazz have another opportunity to close out the series with Nuggets

SALT LAKE CITY — Back in Utah with tucked tails, the Jazz on Thursday reviewed all they did wrong Wednesday — and vowed not to do it again Friday.

And was there plenty that went awry in Game 5 of their first-round NBA playoff series with Denver, especially during a second half in which the Nuggets turned a two-point deficit at the break into a lead that rose as high as 16 in the final minute of a 116-102 win.

"That was a tough game for us," point guard Deron Williams, who scored 34 points and dished 10 assists Wednesday, said prior to practice Thursday.

"We were right there for a lot of the game," he added. "We just couldn't get over the hump, had that bad third quarter, didn't play as good a defense as we'd like to. Hopefully that'll change (Friday)."

The Jazz, Williams suggested, really did squander Game 5.

"We definitely let an opportunity slide," he said. "We wanted to close them out as soon as possible. Now we have a chance at home."

Game 6 of the best-of-seven series comes tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, where the Jazz — up 3-2 — still can do in the Nuggets.

"Win," power forward Carlos Boozer said when asked about the club's mindset Thursday. "Just win, do whatever it takes to win so we can advance.

"We're confident in our abilities," added Boozer, who had 16 rebounds to go with his 25 points Wednesday. "We believe we can beat this team. We believe we can win (tonight) at home, and we're going to go into the game with that confidence."

The No. 5 seed Jazz and No. 4 seed/Northwest Division-champion Nuggets have had nine meetings this regular season and postseason, with Utah winning four times and Denver five.

The home team, though, has won 13 of the last 15 regular-season and playoff games when the two clubs have met — a stretch dating back to midway through the 2007-08 season.

"Homecourt is always important," Boozer said. "Teams are always better at home. We are pretty well matched up. That's why everybody fights so hard to get the homecourt, because we know everybody plays better at home."

The Nuggets claimed homecourt advantage in the series by winning the regular-season 3-1 — the two teams finished tied at 53-29 — but Utah took it away with a Game 2 victory in Denver.

Now, the Jazz are back in the comfort of a building where they went 32-9 in the regular season.