Denver’s dandy duo
NUGGETS 99, JAZZ 91 Murray and Lyles each contribute 26 points to Nuggets’ win over Jazz
While discussing Jamal Murray’s recent rebounding prowess, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he’d prefer his point guard not attempt to grab offensive boards so he can instead get back on defense.
But early in the third quarter Friday night, Murray tracked down a missed 3-pointer by Gary Harris and dribbled back out to left wing. Then his go-ahead longdistance shot went splash, igniting Denver’s second-half charge that propelled it to a 99-91 victory over Utah at the Pepsi Center.
“I was open enough to shoot the ball. Obviously I was feelin’ it tonight,” said Murray, who finished with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including six 3-pointers.
“I’m saying get the (heck) back on defense, because we don’t want our point guards crashing the glass,” Malone said. “But if you’re gonna crash it, go get it. And why not? Give yourself a heat check.”
The win put Denver four games over .500 for the third time this season, at 21-17, and pulled the Nuggets even 2-2 with the division rival Jazz as the teams completed their regular-season series. Denver is now 14-4 at home heading into a two-game road trip — Saturday at Sacramento and Monday at Golden State.
The Nuggets outscored the Jazz 38-16 during a dominant third quarter, including a 16-2 run to flip a six-point deficit into an eight-point advantage at 64-56. Murray also converted a fourpoint play during that stretch, while Mason Plumlee added six points and Wilson Chandler finished off a three-point play.
Trey Lyles totaled a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds against his former team, helping the Nuggets’ lead balloon to 21 points in the final quarter.
“It was really just me staying aggressive, I think, and not letting missed shots affect how I was playing,” Lyles said.
Murray and Lyles anchored Denver offensively, while Nikola Jokic (eight points on 3-of-11 field goals, 10 rebounds, four assists)
slogged through a poor shooting performance.
Utah led 49-46 at halftime, after a second quarter with huge runs from both teams. Denver started the period on a 13-4 spurt, with Lyles scoring 12 points — including an emphatic dunk while being fouled — during the stretch.
“They were trying to switch on pick-and-rolls and we found Trey in the post and he finished,” Malone said. “Then as the game wore on, obviously he showed his ability to score from the perimeter hitting four 3s, and then play off the dribble and post up. There’s not a lot of things that Trey Lyles can’t do.”
But the Jazz answered with a 20-9 run to end the half, highlighted by 3-pointers from Royce O’Neal, Donovan Mitchell and Thabo Sefolosha to retake the lead.
Mitchell, whom the Nuggets drafted for Utah over the summer as part of the trade that sent Lyles to Denver, led a balanced Jazz scoring effort with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Ricky Rubio also had 15 points while Derrick Favors recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
After pulling down at least six rebounds in four consecutive games, Murray recorded zero in Wednesday’s win over Phoenix.
Against the Jazz, Murray finished with six again. And perhaps none more important than his only offensive board of the night.
“He had it going. We ran a couple plays for him. Guys found him. When he’s shooting it like that, he’s shooting into a very large basket,” Malone said of Murray.