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NBA Playoffs : Wilkins Lifts Jazz to Victory

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United Press International

Denver center Wayne Cooper said he was responsible for allowing Jeff Wilkins to score 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter Saturday, a performance that lifted the Utah Jazz to a 131-123 victory over the Nuggets in Game 3 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal playoff series.

“Jeff hurt us down the stretch, and that’s my fault,” Cooper said. “He’s the man who beat us. I take the blame for that. He was my man, and I let him beat me.”

Wilkins hit a baseline hook with 5:44 left to give Utah the lead, 112-110. And he followed it with a hook from the post as the Jazz cut Denver’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

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Game 4 will be played tonight at the Salt Palace, with Game 5 Tuesday night at Denver, where the Nuggets have won 24 of their last 26 games.

Despite Saturday’s victory, Utah Coach Frank Layden said he believes Denver will win the series. And Nugget Coach Doug Moe agreed.

“We have to win three out of the next four,” Layden said. “Personally, I think it’s impossible.”

“We didn’t expect to win four straight, but we do expect to win the series,” Moe added.

The Nuggets, trailing, 121-114, with three minutes left, scored the next six points to trail by one. But Utah called time and then outscored Denver, 10-3, intercepting three passes in the final minute.

“We kept throwing it away and messing up,” Moe said. “I felt we were in good shape at the end of the third quarter. But it doesn’t matter what kind of shape a team is in when it keeps making turnovers.”

Adrian Dantley led Utah with 32 points, and Rickey Green and Darrell Griffith had 24 each. Green scored nine points in the fourth quarter, and Griffith hit 3 of 4 three-point tries.

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Calvin Natt led Denver with 30 points. Alex English had 26, Mike Evans 19 and Dan Issel 14.

Rookie John Stockton added 13 points for Utah, and Thurl Bailey had 11 points plus a game-high 14 rebounds as the Jazz out-rebounded the Nuggets for the first time in the series. They held a 63-50 advantage and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

“The offensive boards probably were the big difference,” Dantley said.

Wilkins added: “If we can get the same type of enthusiasm Sunday, we’ll be all right. We’ve just got to play hard again. It’s no time to be tired.”

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