By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets live to see another day as they grabbed a 119-107 win against the Utah Jazz, pushing the first-round series to Game 7.
Once again, the spotlight shined on the duel between the two backcourt stars as Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell went at it. Although Mitchell put on a big 44-point performance, Murray was the one to come out on top this time around with 50 points.
And he did it with high efficiency, shooting 17-24 from the field including 9-12 from behind the arc while adding six assists and five rebounds. He was also stepping up in crunch time, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter including 12 straight at the six-minute mark to hold off Utah’s comeback effort.
“I play with a lot of heart, play with a lot of passion. And when you’re fighting for something, it means a whole lot more. And we’ve been fighting this fight for a long time, and we’re tired of being tired,” Murray said and added. “It’s an emotional thing, because it’s not just me. It’s lives; it’s not… it’s your life. Imagine losing your life. I don’t know what else to say. Imagine a father losing their life, while they have kids. Imagine a father, a son, a brother getting shot seven times in front of their kids. Imagine that.”
Murray’s performance last night as well as in conjunction with the previous two (50 in Game 4; 42 in Game 5), got its place in history books.
He is only the third player to scored 50 in an elimination game along with Sleepy Floyd and Wilt Chamberlain while only Michael Jordan logged three straight 40-5-5 games in the postseason history. Along with Mitchell, Murray joined Jordan and Iverson as the only players to score multiple 50-point games in a series.
The historic performance was followed by Nikola Jokic who contributed 22 points and nine assists while Jerami Grant added 18.
On the other side, Mike Conley scored 21 in addition to Jordan Clarkson and Rudy Gobert’s 11 points each. Gobert also grabbed 11 rebounds.