Thank goodness.

Games like this are surely not good for my health. With Denver, it always seems to get interesting, one way or another.

It never should have gotten this interesting, though. The way we played in the second quarter, we should have walked away with another easy victory. It’s funny — last season, the Jazz were the comeback kids, who could resurface from any depth to compete in any game. This year, it’s the opposite: we can’t seem to close the door, and we let teams hang around that really shouldn’t. We play down to the level of our competition. And I have no doubt that it has cost us a few ball games.

We played down to the Nuggets’ level last night, too, in more ways than one. We let the game get far too physical, after Kenyon Martin’s third-quarter flagrant foul that sent Ronnie Brewer to the locker room. It set off an undesirable chain of reactions, including Matt Harpring elbowing K-Mart in the midsection, Eduardo Najera pulling Harpring down on top of him after a foul (and immediately shoving him off), and Harpring sparring with Carmelo Anthony (eventually leading to ‘Melo fouling out near the end of the game). Okay, so maybe they weren’t all that undesirable. But considering that the increased level of physicality led to Memo and Millsap fouling out too, I’m not sure it was the best option.

I refuse to call the Nuggets “thugs,” a word many have used to describe them and other teams. I think the term carries connotations that don’t really apply to the way an athlete plays basketball. But I don’t like playing Denver, because I don’t like the physicality it brings out in the Jazz. I don’t like hearing K-Mart yell “NO LAYUPS!!” as he clotheslines Ronnie Brewer. I don’t like Allen Iverson putting his head down and throwing himself towards the hoop in order to get to the foul line. I don’t like Harpring trading elbows with Martin and ‘Melo, and I don’t like Najera’s brutish behavior in retaliation. I consider these, on the whole, to be Bad Things.

But I loved how the Jazz responded, once they understood how the game was going to be played. I loved Deron Williams taking the ball right at Marcus Camby on the fast break. I loved that Memo actually played hard enough to earn a foul-out, something he rarely does. I loved that the team rallied and stayed strong despite an abysmal night from Carlos Boozer, who hasn’t played well since he was announced as an All-Star. I loved how Kyle Korver came back from a rough second half to nail the big shots down the stretch. I feel like I learned a lot about the Jazz last night, and how this team can overcome adversity.

So the game probably wasn’t good for my health. But I think it was great for the health of the Utah Jazz. So I’ll take it. Ten straight and counting.