DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 21 in his return from a foot injury, sparking the Nuggets’ 131-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night that gave Denver a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Nuggets also got 23 from Game 4 hero Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic’s 21st career playoff triple-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists).
Again, Denver took a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter only to watch the Clippers go on a furious run, like they did in Game 4 when they erased their entire deficit only to lose 101-99 when Gordon’s buzzer-beater for the .
This time, the Clippers went on a 17-4 run to cut their deficit to single digits at 116-107, but the Nuggets fended off another frenetic finish by going on an 11-0 run with Murray scoring six and Gordon five to compel Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to empty his bench.
Game 6 is Thursday night at the Intuit Dome and another win by Denver would set up a second-round series against top-seeded Oklahoma City.
Ivaca Zubac led the Clippers with a playoff career-high 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 20 and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 18.
Murray was 8 of 14 from beyond the arc and 17 of 26 overall. He even sank a 3 from the top of the key that didn’t count because the ball left his fingertips a split-second after the red light lit up the backboard signaling the end of the first half.
That left Denver with a 67-59 lead, which the Nuggets extended to 99-83 heading into the fourth quarter thanks to two big 3s in the closing seconds, one by Westbrook and the other a 28-footer from Christian Braun.
Westbrook, who sat out Game 4 with left foot inflammation, returned to action and scored 16 first-half points in 12 minutes. His return allowed Nuggets interim coach David Adelman who use his bench more after all five starters in Game 4.
The Clippers hadn’t lost back-to-back games since March 4.
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