DENVER — Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 as the Denver Nuggets used a third-quarter offensive surge to beat the Utah Jazz 129-103 Saturday night for their first home victory of the season.

Julian Strawther added 19 points and Christian Braun 17 for the Nuggets, who sent the winless Jazz to their sixth straight loss to start the season. Jokic also had 16 rebounds and nine assists.

Utah was led by Walker Kessler with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Johnny Juzang with 17 points.

Both teams were suffering from injuries. Russell Westbrook started in place of Nuggets star Jamal Murray, who remained in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in a collision with Julius Randle in Minnesota on Friday.

Utah relied on rookies Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski, who started, in the absence of Lauri Markkanen (back spasms) and Taylor Hendricks (broken leg).

Utah committed 24 turnovers which the Nuggets transformed into 39 points.

Takeaways

Jazz: Utah stayed pretty close in the first half but wore down in the third quarter, when they fell behind by 24 points.

Nuggets: Denver began its home campaign with losses to the Thunder and Clippers before defeating Utah. This win was consistent with their home record against sub-.500 teams at home last season, when they went 15-0.

Key moment

Utah fought back from a 17-point first-quarter deficit to tie the game at 42 midway through the second quarter. But Denver responded with a 14-0 run featuring three-pointers from Braun and Porter, helping the Nuggets take a 65-56 lead at halftime.

Key statistic

Jokic scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter, helping the Nuggets beat the Jazz 34-19.

To be continued

The Jazz continue their four-game road trip Monday night in Chicago while the Nuggets host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.