Jamal Murray’s breakout match with La Clippers puts the Denver Nuggets in-game in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Jamal Murray scored 24 of his game-high 43 points in the second half, and the hosts Denver Nuggets pushed the Los Angeles Clippers to the brink of elimination with a 131-115 victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference’s first round series.
Denver won the last two games and took a 3-2 lead in the first round matchup. Game 6 will be held Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Murray scored 11 points with a smoky Tuesday night, adding another 13 points in the fourth. With the final 3 pointers, I raised the nugget to 20 minutes with 2 minutes and 13 seconds remaining.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds (the third triple double in the series), and did not track the nuggets. They led a 22 straight wins in the fourth quarter in the 22nd quarter, but unlike Saturday, they didn’t give up the entire lead.
The Clippers used a 17-4 run to leave 4:01 within 116-107, but Aaron Gordon hit a layup, Murray made a free throw after a transition foul, then made a Fellaway jumper, and Gordon drained a 3-pointer.
Russell Westbrook missed Game 4 with a foot injury and scored 21 points from the Denver bench. Gordon scored 23 points, Michael Porter JR scored 14 points, while Christian Brown scored 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 33-for-17 (51.5%) from the 3-point range.
Los Angeles’ James Harden scored 11 points in a 9-3 shooting, while Kawi Leonard had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, while Ivika Zubak added 27 points.
Porter opened the fourth quarter with three points and three points play. Murray gave Deep and Westbrook for making Deep and Westbrook 110-88 for 12 footers before Los Angeles was closed within nine.
Murray and Porter hit three pointers to encourage a 10-2 run at the start of the third quarter, with the Nuggets moving 84-67 for the period.
The Clippers scored seven points in 43 seconds to get within 88-80, but Brown’s three-pointer put them in fourth place at 99-83.
Denver won Game 4 101-99 in Los Angeles on Sunday, with Gordon sensationalizing the ball with a buzzer.
Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers Clinic Series
The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their place in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday, as the Detroit Pistons blocked the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
In Indianapolis, the Pacers fought back from a 20-point deficit before defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and reunited with overtime to win a 4-1 victory in the NBA Eastern Conference duel.
The dominant NBA champions, the Celtics, had a quick time as they overwhelmed Orlando’s magic with a 120-89 victory that concluded the series at Boston’s TD Garden.
The Knicks, who led the series 3-1, missed the chance to join Boston and Indiana in the second round after losing 106-103 to Detroit at Madison Square Garden.
The Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Semi-finals series along with Top Seed Cleveland after withdrawing the incredible overtime Houdini Act.
The Pacers chased 118-111 with 40 seconds left, but started the 8-0 run with a winning driving layup from Tyree Halliburton with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
A late mistake by Gary Trent Jr. of Milwaukee.
“Both teams left literally every ounce of everything there was there, including the timeout. No one left,” Pacers manager Rick Carlisle said.
“But Fortune stands for bold people. And our peers have been bold in the last three quarters and are so grateful and grateful that they have moved ahead.”
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