Murray, Jokic keep Nuggets alive vs. Jazz

[August 26, 2020]  Jamal Murray had 42 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Nikola Jokic had 31 points, as the Denver Nuggets stayed alive with a 117-107 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series near Orlando on Tuesday night.

Murray scored 33 in the second half alone, while Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points in the game and Jerami Grant added 13 to help the Nuggets rally. Denver now trails 3-2 in the series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, while Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson had 17 each and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. Joe Ingles added 13 and Royce O'Neale scored 10.

The game was tied 101-all with under four minutes to play when Murray took over. He hit a fadeaway off an offensive rebound, drained a 3-pointer and hit two step-back jumpers to put Denver ahead 110-101 with 1:20 remaining.

Mitchell split a pair of free throws and Gobert dunked to pull Utah within six at 110-104, but Murray passed to Jokic in the corner, and his 3-pointer with 23 seconds left put Denver back up 113-104.

Mitchell banked in a 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds remaining, but Grant hit four free throws in the final 14 seconds to seal it.

Down 81-69 in the third quarter, the Nuggets went on a 13-3 run, led by Murray, who had 11 of those. His spinning layup with 35 seconds left made it 84-82, but Gobert's dunk put the Jazz ahead 86-82 heading into the fourth.

Jokic hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth, and Porter's turnaround jumper put Denver ahead 87-86 with 10:13 left, its first lead since early in the second quarter.

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets drives the ball against Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz during the first quarter in game five of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports

The teams traded small runs, with the Nuggets taking a four-point lead and Utah responding to go up by two. Grant hit a 3-pointer to put Denver up 101-98, and a layup by Conley and free throw from Gobert tied it with 3:46 left.

Clarkson heated up in the second quarter, scoring 11 of his points and hitting a trio of 3-pointers to help the Jazz take a 63-54 lead at halftime.

--Field Level Media

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