Wild win for Denver keeps it alive in West
Working overtime in Easter thriller pays off for Nuggets, who clinch winning season
NUGGETS 128, BUCKS 125 (OT)
Jamal Murray pumped the crowd up with one arm as the final seconds of overtime ticked off the clock, before teammates greeted the Nuggets’ secondyear point guard with a victory shower.
Such a celebration seemed impossible minutes prior. But the insanity that broke out at the Pepsi Center on Easter Sunday ultimately crescendoed into a crucial Nuggets victory.
Denver rallied from 18 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat Milwaukee 128-125 in overtime in arguably the wildest game of the Nuggets’ season, which helped them gain crucial ground in the NBA’s Western Conference playoff race and clinch their first winning season in five years.
“The last two games, in the fashion that we’ve won, has really been incredible,” said coach Michael Malone, also referencing Denver’s overtime win at Oklahoma City on Friday night. “I think it speaks to the growth of our team.”
With the win, the Nuggets (42-35) moved a game ahead of the ninth-place Clippers and within a game of eighth-place New Orleans in the West.
Denver never trailed in overtime but had to hold off a late
surge by the Bucks. Nikola Jokic’s 3pointer gave the Nuggets their largest lead of extra time at 121-114 with 1:47 left, but Malik Beasley needed to sink two free throws with 7.1 seconds left. Jabari Parker’s heave with 2.1 seconds left was off target.
Denver climbed all the way back from an 18-point, fourth-quarter deficit and seven down in the final two minutes when Jamal Murray — who finished with 27 points and seven assists — stole an inbounds pass, was fouled on a 3point attempt and sank all three free throws to tie the game at 111 with 2.8 seconds to play in regulation. Then after the Bucks’ Eric Bledsoe stepped out of bounds with 2.4 seconds to play, a Jokic turnaround heave rimmed out to force overtime.
“No pressure,” Murray said of his clutch free throws. “That’s my favorite shot. I talk about meditation and being calm and composed and all that — I couldn’t wait to go up to the line.”
The Bucks outscored the Nuggets 3816 in the third quarter to turn a 63-54 halftime deficit into a double-digit advantage. A pull-up jumper by Bledsoe extended Milwaukee’s advantage to 8874 with 1:40 left in the third — one that would balloon to 18 points with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter after a Giannis Antetokounmpo jumper made it 102-84.
Parker led the Bucks with 35 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Bledsoe added 31 points, five rebounds and six assists before fouling out late in overtime. Antetokounmpo compiled a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 3:43 to play.
Jokic finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, while Millsap added 26 points and 13 rebounds.