Red Hot Jazz Look for 8th Straight Win

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuter) -- The red-hot Utah Jazz look to extend their winning streak to eight games Friday, when they host the newly-guided Denver Nuggets.

The Jazz won their seventh straight on Monday, defeating the New Jersey Nets 108-92. Karl Malone had 27 points and 16 rebounds and the NBA's all-time leading assist artist John Stockton handed out 13 assists.

Stockton, who struggled over the first four games of the season with an average of 6.5 assists per game, is playing more like the Dream Teamer of late.

He is averaging 12.9 assists over the last seven games for Utah, which is 6-1 at home.

Dick Motta's return to coaching was a victorious one as Dale Ellis scored 28 points and Brooks Thompson added a career-high 26 for the Nuggets, who knocked off the winless Phoenix Suns, 117-108, on Tuesday.

Motta, hired as an asssistant to Bernie Bickerstaff during the off-season, replaced him earlier in the day.

Bickerstaff resigned as coach but will remain general manager.

In other games, the struggling Vancouver Grizzlies continue a four-game East Coast road trip with a contest against the surging Detroit Pistons.

The Seattle SuperSonics conclude a six-game road trip in Minnesota with a game against the Timberwolves, a team that they have dominated. Seattle had its NBA high 11-game winning streak stopped on Tuesday by the Charlotte Hornets.

The Atlanta Hawks, winners of three straight, travel to Orlando for a game against the shorthanded Magic.

The Lakers go in search of their fourth straight road win as they square off against the Celtics in Boston.

The Cleveland Cavaliers bring a three-game winning streak to Milwaukee for a division matchup with the Bucks.

The injury-plagued San Antonio Spurs look to snap a six-game losing streak against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The worst team in the Eastern Conference will square off against the worst in the Western Conference when the New Jersey Nets travel to Phoenix to face the winless Suns.

The Miami Heat look to complete a perfect six-game road trip as the play the struggling Los Angeles Clippers.