Jamal Murray pours in 43 as Nuggets go up 3-2 on Clippers

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Jamal Murray turns in his best performance of this NBA playoffs as the Nuggets win back-to-back games against the Clippers to move within a victory of advancing to the Western Conference semifinals

Jamal Murray scored 24 of his game-high 43 points in the second half and the host Denver Nuggets pushed the Los Angeles Clippers to the brink of elimination with a 131-115 win in Game 5 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday, April 29 (Wednesday, April 30, Manila time).

Denver has won the past two games to take a 3-2 lead in the first-round matchup. Game 6 is Thursday in Los Angeles.

Murray scored 11 points in a momentum-turning third quarter and added 13 more in the fourth, the last on a three-pointer with 2:13 left that put the Nuggets up by 20.

“Not every season is pretty, a Disney movie. … Seems like we always had a response tonight,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Jamal was the star. But a lot of people are reason we won this game.”

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 layup, Murray made a free throw after a transition foul and then a fallaway jumper, and Gordon drained a three-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.

“Holding Joker (Jokic) to 13 points and losing the game is tough,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “That’s how he beats you. If you worry about him too much, other guys can beat you. But I just thought Jamal Murray was excellent.”

The Nuggets shot 17-for-33 (51.5%) from three-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 9 rebounds, and Ivica Zubac added 27 points.

“Denver, I think they made their mind to take him (Harden) out of the series after the first two or three games,” Lue said. “They’re doing a good job. I got to do a better job just finding ways to get him open, to get him space.”

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points, Kris Dunn had 15, and Norman Powell put up 12 for the Clippers.

Porter opened the fourth quarter with a three-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 9.

Murray and Porter hit three-pointers to spark a 10-2 run at the start of the third quarter, and the Nuggets went ahead 84-67 midway through the period.

“He (Murray) was born for this,” Adelman said. “Let’s face it, some of the shots he made tonight were just absurd.”

The Clippers scored 7 points in 43 seconds to get within 88-80, but Braun’s three-pointer made it 99-83 heading into the fourth.

Denver won 101-99 at Los Angeles on Sunday when Gordon dunked at the buzzer. – Rappler.com