LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 33 of his 42 points in a second half where he played every minute and the Denver Nuggets avoided elimination by beating the Utah Jazz 117-107 in Game 5. The Nuggets trail the sixth-seeded Jazz 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday. Murray was unstoppable down the stretch in nearly matching his 50-point effort in Game 4. He had eight assists, including a pass to Nikola Jokic for a 3-pointer with 23.6 that sealed the win.The dynamic tandem of Murray and Jokic clearly won’t ready to leave the NBA bubble just yet. Jokic had it going early as he scored 21 of his 31 points in the the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell finished with 30 points while wearing a pair of bright, multicolored shoes.
Clippers set record to take lead in series with Mavs
The Clippers took a three-games-to-two lead in their first-round series by setting a franchise record for points in a playoff game, 154-111 over the Mavericks. Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points and Paul George scored 18 while Los Angeles was building a 76-52 halftime lead. George broke out of a scoring slump with a team-high 35 points and Leonard added 32. Montrezl Harrell delivered 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.
Dallas guard Luka Doncic was held to 22 points on 6 of 17 shooting after pouring in 43 points on Sunday.
Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis sat out with right knee soreness. It was the second straight game the 7-foot-3 Latvian missed.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was ejected in the third quarter of the testy game, which included six technicals and a flagrant-1 foul.