DENVER (AP) \u2014 Nuggets interim coach David Adelman sensed one of Jamal Murray\u2019s patented playoff performances coming, and he was right on the money \u2014 just like his point guard.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s 43-point outburst powered Denver\u2019s 131-115 win over the Clippers on Tuesday night that handed Los Angeles its first back-to-back losses since March 4 and put the Nuggets one win away from a Round 2 matchup with Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n
Murray was 17-of-26 shooting, including 8 for 14 from long range. <\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, he played great,\u201d Kawhi Leonard said. \u201cHe came out, made shots, got hot, found his teammates and we pretty much couldn\u2019t stop him. He played amazing. Russ (Westbrook) came in and played great, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Westbrook scored 21 points in his return from a left foot injury, including 16 of them in 12 first-half minutes as Denver led wire-to-wire.<\/p>\n
Adelman, the Nuggets\u2019 interim coach, said some of Murray\u2019s shots \u201cwere absolutely ridiculous. And I said before the game it\u2019s coming with him. You know it is, in these big moments, these situations. He was born for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
This marked Murray\u2019s best scoring game outside the Disney World bubble during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he\u2019s aggressive, we\u2019re a different team,\u201d Westbrook said. \u201cWhen he\u2019s got that swagger and he\u2019s going out and competing at the level he did tonight, we\u2019re a tough team to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray got plenty of help, including 23 points from Game 4 hero Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic\u2019s 21st career playoff triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) to go with Christian Braun\u2019s double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds).<\/p>\n
Braun also provided stellar defense of James Harden, who scored 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting with four turnovers. For the second straight game, he didn\u2019t speak with reporters afterward.<\/p>\n
And for the second consecutive game, Denver took a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter only to watch the Clippers go on a furious run. <\/p>\n
In Game 4, L.A. erased its entire deficit only to lose 101-99 when Gordon\u2019s buzzer-beater provided the first walk-off dunk in NBA playoff history<\/a>. This time, the Clippers went on a 17-4 run to cut their deficit to single digits at 116-107, but the Nuggets fended off another frenetic finish by going on an 11-0 run with Murray scoring six and Gordon five to compel Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to empty his bench.<\/p>\n Game 6 is Thursday night at the Intuit Dome and another win by Denver would set up a second-round series against top-seeded Oklahoma City, which swept its first-round series with the Memphis Grizzlies.<\/p>\n Ivaca Zubac led the Clippers with a playoff career-high 27 points, Leonard added 20 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18.<\/p>\n Westbrook\u2019s return allowed Adelman to use his bench more after all five starters logged at least 42 minutes<\/a> in Game 4. Only Murray logged more than 40 minutes Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Murray \u201ccame out being aggressive, which we knew we would,\u201d Lue said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we started off with a blitz against him, just trying to slow him down. We knew in Game 5 he would come out aggressive, and he made every shot \u2014 pull-up 3s, mid-range. We blitzed him, we dropped, we switched, we did a lot of different coverages, but he had a hell of a game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHolding Joker to 13 points and losing the game is tough. But that\u2019s how they beat you. If you worry about him too much, other guys can beat you. But I just thought Jamal Murray was excellent tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n