Nuggets overcome Mitchell’s 52 points
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jamal Murray showed up for his postgame Zoom call wearing a shirt featuring the image of boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Almost fitting, given the Denver Nuggets withstood blow after blow from Donovan Mitchell before landing the knockout punch.
Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Nuggets beat Utah 135125 on Monday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
“It was just lights, camera, action and come on we’re trying to get this win,” Murray explained.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the game on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining. Game 2 is Wednesday. Mitchell was the star of the show in the absence of Mike Conley, who left the NBA bubble to return to Ohio for the birth of his son. Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.
Mitchell was 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He hit six 3-pointers in 43 minutes, 14 seconds of work. He also had seven assists and nine rebounds.
“The biggest thing was just to try to make the right plays,” the 23-year-old said.
Mitchell’s offensive explosion was the third-most points scored in an NBA playoff game, trailing only Michael Jordan (63) and Elgin Baylor (61), according to Basketball Reference.
For all his offensive handiwork, it was a play near the end of the game that Mitchell lamented. With the Jazz leading 109-105 and 1:46 remaining in regulation, Mitchell was called for an 8-second violation as he dribbled the ball up the floor. Murray promptly responded with a 3-pointer to get Denver right back into the game.
“That’s my fault. As a leader and as a point guard at that time, that’s terrible on my part,” Mitchell said. “That really changed the entire game, that sequence right there.
“At the end of the day, we’re not overreacting. It’s one game.”
It was no surprise this game went down to the wire. Denver went 3-0 against Utah during the regular and restarted season but won by a combined margin of just 11 points, including a 134-132 double-overtime thriller on Aug 8.
Murray and Mitchell stood out in this game — both for their play and their shoes. Wearing neon green shoes, Murray had 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Donning highlighter yellow sneakers, Mitchell had 22 points in the fourth and 17 in the second.
And yes, they were chatting in a friendly trash-talk way.
RAPTORS 134, NETS 110 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-110 in the opening game of their first-round playoff series Monday.
VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc as a team as they maintained playoff intensity even without any fans attending postseason games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. The Raptors’ 22 3-pointers matched a season high and set a franchise playoff record.
“We didn’t really get that playoff atmosphere in terms of that, but I thought we hyped ourselves up,” VanVleet said. “I thought this is the most locked in we’ve been all year. It felt like guys were amped up and energized. Having won one (title), it kind of puts you at a peace throughout the year, and now it’s time to kick it into gear. I thought we were pretty engaged. I loved our energy, our attentitiveness and focus. That’s all you can ask for.”
VanVleet had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game.
Toronto, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, grabbed a 68-35 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. Brooklyn got that margin all the way down to eight late in the third quarter, but the Raptors regained control and won convincingly.
“Everything was rolling, right?” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s an NBA game (against) a team that’s been playing extremely well, you know they’re going to make their run a little bit. I was certainly happy to see us answer back once we kind of regrouped.”
Serge Ibaka scored 22 points off the bench for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists with no turnovers. Marc Gasol scored 13, OG Anunoby had 12 and Terence Davis added 11.