Murray, Westbrook Lead Nuggets Past Clippers 131-115

DENVER – Nuggets acting drillmaster David Adelman sensed one of Jamal Murray’s patented playoff performances coming, and he was appropriate on the money — aloof like his point guard.

Murray’s 43-point access powered Denver’s 131-115 win over the Clippers on Tuesday night that handed Los Angeles its aboriginal back-to-back losses back March 4 and put the Nuggets one win abroad from a Round 2 antagonism with Oklahoma City.

Murray was 17-of-26 shooting, including 8 for 14 from continued range.

“Tonight, he played great,” Kawhi Leonard said. “He came out, fabricated shots, got hot, begin his teammates and we appealing abundant couldn’t stop him. He played amazing. Russ (Westbrook) came in and played great, as well.”

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Westbrook denticulate 21 credibility in his acknowledgment from a larboard bottom injury, including 16 of them in 12 first-half account as Denver led wire-to-wire.

Adelman, the Nuggets’ acting coach, said some of Murray’s shots “were actually ridiculous. And I said afore the bold it’s advancing with him. You apperceive it is, in these big moments, these situations. He was built-in for this.”

This apparent Murray’s best scoring bold alfresco the Disney World balloon during the pandemic.

“When he’s aggressive, we’re a altered team,” Westbrook said. “When he’s got that bluster and he’s activity out and advancing at the akin he did tonight, we’re a boxy aggregation to beat.”

Murray got affluence of help, including 23 credibility from Bold 4 hero Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic’s 21st career playoff triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) to go with Christian Braun’s double-double (11 credibility and 12 rebounds).

Braun additionally provided arch aegis of James Harden, who denticulate 11 credibility on 3-of-9 cutting with four turnovers. For the additional beeline game, he didn’t allege with reporters afterward.

And for the additional afterwards game, Denver took a 22-point advance aboriginal in the fourth division alone to watch the Clippers go on a bent run.

In Bold 4, L.A. asleep its absolute arrears alone to lose 101-99 back Gordon’s buzzer-beater provided the aboriginal walk-off douse in NBA playoff history. This time, the Clippers went on a 17-4 run to cut their arrears to distinct digits at 116-107, but the Nuggets fended off addition corybantic accomplishment by activity on an 11-0 run with Murray scoring six and Gordon bristles to bulldoze Clipper’s drillmaster Tyronn Lue to abandon his bench.

Game 6 is Thursday night at the Intuit Dome and addition win by Denver would set up a second-round alternation adjoin top-seeded Oklahoma City, which swept its first-round alternation with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Ivaca Zubac led the Clippers with a playoff career-high 27 points, Leonard added 20 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18.

Westbrook’s acknowledgment accustomed Adelman to use his bank added afterwards all bristles starters logged at atomic 42 account in Bold 4. Alone Murray logged added than 40 account Tuesday night.

Murray “came out actuality aggressive, which we knew we would,” Lue said. “That’s why we started off with an assault adjoin him, aloof aggravating to apathetic him down. We knew in Bold 5 he would appear out aggressive, and he fabricated every attempt pull-up 3s, mid-range. We blitzed him, we dropped, we switched, we did a lot of altered coverages, but he had a hell of a game.”

“Holding Joker to 13 credibility and accident the bold is tough. But that’s how they exhausted you. If you anguish about him too much, added guys can exhausted you. But I aloof anticipation Jamal Murray was accomplished tonight.”