LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – The Jamal Murray-Donovan Mitchell duel will be resolved in the first Game 7 in the bubble.
Murray extended his torrid run by another 50 points, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 119-107 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Murray had his second 50-point game of the series to match Mitchell, who finished with 44 in this one. No player has ever had more in an entire postseason.
They will try once again on Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to face the Los Angeles Clippers, who defeated the Dallas Mavericks in six games on the same court just hours earlier.
Murray and his teammates are looking to become the 12th team to recover from a 3-1 deficit to win a series and their first since 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the only of those comebacks to make it into the NBA Finals.
“They believe in me, I believe in them and we’re trying to be this 12th team to come back from under 3-1,” said Murray, whose right shoe had a picture of George Floyd and his left Breonna Taylor, two blacks. people killed by police this spring.
Mitchell was disappointed that Jazz had missed an opportunity to end the series in Game 5, but understands the interest in seeing him and Murray take on the final contest.
“From the fan’s point of view, I see and respect him, but I can’t tell you as a player that I want to play Game 7 if we’re 3-1 ahead,” he said. “I don’t think anyone wants to do that but we’re here, so play the hand you’ve been given and we’ll go out there, execute and do what we have to do.”
The Nuggets won the first game, but the Jazz won the next three games and were in good shape to finish it in Game 5, maintaining a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
Murray led the charge again in that game, finishing with 42 points, and then he was a sizzling 17 of 24 in Game 6, going 9 of 12 behind the 3-point arc.
“The last game came to the limit and we wanted to take him away. In addition to trapping him, we’re trying to get him to hit contested shots and he’s doing it,” Utah manager Quin Snyder said.
Mitchell also scored nine 3-points and increased the NBA’s highscore average in these playoffs to 37.6 points per game.
In the fourth quarter alone, Murray overtook Mitchell 21-17, helping to keep the Jazz from ever getting close enough to have a real chance of finishing the series.
Murray had a little more help, with Nikola Jokic scoring 22 points and Jerami Grant adding 18.
Mike Conley had 21 points for Jazz, but Rudy Gobert and Jordan Clarkson each held only 11.
A seventh game between third-seeded Nuggets and number 6 Jazz seems appropriate. Although Denver won all three matches during the regular season, the total margin was only 11 points.
Jazz finished at the top of all teams in the postseason in field goal and 3-point percentage, and third in scoring with 121.8 points per game. And it soon seemed like they would eclipse all those numbers.
The Nuggets started 5 out of 6 but were just trying to keep up as the Jazz hit their first seven hits. Conley made a triple from the corner as he fell to beat the 24 ” clock and then flipped into one, keeping Utah also rolling on possessions when Denver was defending well.
But the Jazz left a lot of points on the scoreboard by going 3 out of 9 on free throws, so their lead was only six. Murray then warmed up to reach a 14-point second quarter and Utah shot just 4 of 16 as the Nuggets climbed to a 10-point lead before taking a 61-56 lead in the locker room.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Gary Harris got his first action in the series after recovering from a right hip muscle strain. He finished with four points. … Torrey Craig got up off the floor with a towel covering his face after being hit while fighting for rebounding position in the third quarter, but remained in the game after the previous game was under review.
Jazz: Utah finished 18 of 36 (50%) by 3 points. … Georges Niang scored 10 points.
50-50
Michael Jordan (twice), Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson are the only other players with two 50-point games in the same postseason.
GOING THE DISTANCE
It will be the third consecutive game 7 for the Nuggets, who beat San Antonio before losing to Portland last year.
“To be honest, for us it’s Game 7 in the last two games. For us it’s either winning or coming home,” said Jokic. “That’s why we’re playing a little relaxed. We have nothing to worry about. If we lose we go home. That’s why the energy is really high. We just have to give the effort. Don’t give up on the plays. Bounce. Help each other. because we are playing really well right now. “
—
More NBA APs: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
