Jamal Murray’s breakout match against LA Clippers puts Denver Nuggets within a game of the second round of 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 win in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Denver have won the past two games to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round matchup. Game 6 is on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Murray scored 11 points in a momentum-turning third quarter on Tuesday night and added 13 more in the fourth, the last on a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 13 seconds left that put the Nuggets up by 20.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds – his third triple-double of the series – for the Nuggets, who never trailed. They led by 22 in the fourth quarter for the second straight game, but unlike Saturday, they did not give away the entire lead.
The Clippers used a 17-4 run to get within 116-107 with 4:01 left, but Aaron Gordon hit a lay-up, Murray made a free throw after a transition foul and then a fallaway jumper, and Gordon drained a 3-pointer to seal it.
Russell Westbrook, who missed Game 4 with a foot injury, scored 21 points off the Denver bench. Gordon had 23 points, Michael Porter Jr contributed 14 points, and Christian Braun had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets shot 17-for-33 (51.5 percent) from 3-point range.
Los Angeles’ James Harden was held to 11 points on 3-for-9 shooting, but Kawhi Leonard had 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Ivica Zubac added 27 points.
Porter opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and a three-point play, Murray drained one from deep and fed Westbrook for a 12-footer to make it 110-88 before Los Angeles closed within nine.
Murray and Porter hit 3-pointers to prompt a 10-2 run at the start of the third quarter, and the Nuggets went ahead 84-67 midway through the period.
The Clippers scored seven points in 43 seconds to get within 88-80, but Braun’s 3-pointer made it 99-83 heading into the fourth.
Denver won Game 4 101-99 at Los Angeles on Sunday when Gordon sensationally dunked the ball at the buzzer.
Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers clinch series
The Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.
In Indianapolis, the Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and seal a 4-1 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference duel.
The reigning NBA champions Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.
The Knicks, leading their 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 advanced to an Eastern Conference semifinal series with top seeds Cleveland after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act.
The Pacers trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining but launched an 8-0 run that culminated with Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup to clinch victory with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
A late blunder by Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr, who fumbled a wide-open pass to turn over possession and set up Haliburton’s winning layup, proved pivotal.
“Both teams literally left every single ounce of everything they had out there, including timeouts – nobody had anything left,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
“But you know, fortune favours the bold. And our guys were bold in the last three quarters, and we’re very grateful and thankful to be moving on.”
