Murray, Jokic keep Nuggets kicking
Jamal Murray scored 33 of his 42 points in a second half where he played every minute and the Denver Nuggets avoided elimination by beating the Utah Jazz 117-107 on Tuesday night in Game 5.
The Nuggets trail the sixth-seeded Jazz 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Murray was unstoppable down the stretch in 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 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining that sealed the win.
The dynamic tandem of Murray and Jokic clearly weren’t ready to leave the NBA bubble just yet. Jokic had it going early as he scored 21 of his 31 points in the the first quarter. Murray took over late. With the game tied at 101, Murray scored nine straight for Denver to help the Nuggets gain some separation. They trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter.
Utah’s Donovan Mitchell finished with 30 points while wearing a pair of bright, multicolored shoes. The sharpshooter is averaging 37.6 points over the five games.
Jazz reserve Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and Joe Ingles found his rhythm with 13. Ingles had a combined two points in the previous two games.
George leads Clips in rout of Mavs
Paul George scored 35 points, Kawhi Leonard added 32 and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled past the Dallas 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.
Dallas’ Luka Doncic, who hit a game-winner at the buzzer in Game 4 to cap off a 43-point tripledouble, was held to 22 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis sat out with right knee soreness. It was the second straight game the 7-foot-3 Latvian missed.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was ejected in the third quarter of the testy game, which included six techincals and a flagrant-1 foul.
Giannis named top defender
Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the fifth to win that award and MVP in a career.
The Milwaukee Bucks All-Star, who was MVP last year and is the favorite to repeat this season, ended the two-year reign of Utah center Rudy Gobert.
Antetokounmpo received 75 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing with 432 points. Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis was second (200 points; 14 first-place votes) and Gobert (187; six) third.
Antetokounmpo joined Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kevin Garnett as players to earn the MVP-DPOY double. He was runner-up for the defensive award last year.
Injured Lillard to miss Game 5
Portland guard Damian Lillard has a sprained right knee and will be sidelined Wednesday when the Trail Blazers play a win-or-else Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Blazers trail the best-of-seven West firstround series 3-1 and now will play without their leading scorer.