Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points and Russell Westbrook added 21 in his return from injury, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 131-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night and putting the defending champs one win away from the second round.
Murray shot 17-of-26 from the field and knocked down eight 3-pointers, powering Denver to a wire-to-wire win and its second straight game scoring 130 or more.
NUGGETS BACK-TO-BACK THREES TO CLOSE OUT THE 3Q 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PIWgCq3mZX
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“When he’s got that swagger... we’re a tough team to beat,” Westbrook said.
The Nuggets lead the series 3-2 and can close it out Thursday night at the Intuit Dome. A win would set up a second-round showdown with top-seeded Oklahoma City.
Westbrook provided an early spark with 16 points in the first half. Denver also got 23 points from Aaron Gordon and a 13-point triple-double from Nikola Jokic, his 21st in the postseason. Christian Braun added 11 points, 12 rebounds, and strong defense on James Harden, who was held to 11 points and four turnovers.
“Holding Joker to 13 points and losing the game is tough,” said Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “But Jamal Murray was excellent tonight.”
Denver built a 22-point lead early in the fourth, just like in Game 4, before the Clippers cut the deficit to 116-107 with a 17-4 run. This time, the Nuggets answered with an 11-0 burst of their own — six points from Murray and five from Gordon — to put the game away.
Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with a playoff career-high 27 points, Kawhi Leonard scored 20, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18. But L.A. dropped consecutive games for the first time since early March.
