Murray keeps Nuggets alive

Jamal Murray scored 33 of his 42 points in a second half in which he played every minute, and the Nuggets avoided elimination by beating the Jazz 117-107 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The Nuggets now trail the sixth-seeded Jazz 3-2, with Game 6 on Thursday.

Murray was unstoppable down the stretch, nearly matching his 50-point effort in Game 4. He hit 17 of 26 shots and had eight assists, including a pass to Nikola Jokic for a three-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining that sealed the win.

† Paul George scored 35 points and Kawhi Leonard added 32 for the Clippers, who rolled past the Mavericks 154-111 to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round series. Montrezl Harrell added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who set a franchise record for points in a playoff game.

† Bucks All-Star center Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Lakers forward Anthony Davis was second in the voting, followed by Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

† Players from both the Raptors and Celtics say there have been discussions about whether they should boycott games in their second-round playoff series — which is scheduled to start Thursday — after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.