SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray made 10 3-pointers — including a half-court heave that beat the first-quarter buzzer — and scored 37 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 130-117 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Nikola Jokic had 17 rebounds, 15 points, and 12 assists for his fifth triple-double in six games to help the Nuggets earn their seventh straight victory. Cam Johnson added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Christian
Braun had 18 points and six rebounds.
Brice Sensabaugh led Utah with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and six rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz, who dropped their seventh straight and are 3-19 in their last 22 games. Kennedy Chandler had 16 points and six assists off the bench.
Murray buried 3-pointers on each of Denver’s first three possessions to help the Nuggets open with 12 unanswered points and seize a 17-3 lead. Each of Denver’s first six field goals came beyond the arc.
Overall, the Nuggets went 9 of 18 from the perimeter during the first quarter. Murray had five 3s in that stretch, culminating in a half-court heave that beat the buzzer and put Denver up 39-28 entering the second quarter.
Utah trailed wire-to-wire, but pulled within 30-27 late in the first quarter on three straight baskets from Sensabaugh and Filipowski. The Nuggets restored a double-digit lead with a 15-2 run spanning into the second quarter. Jonas Valanciunas drove for a layup to punctuate the run and extend Denver’s lead to 45-29.
The Jazz trailed by as many as 18 before cutting the deficit to 101-97 on Sensabaugh’s finger roll layup early in the fourth quarter. Murray and Braun answered with back-to-back baskets, sparking another 15-2 run that helped Denver pull away again.
Nuggets: Host San Antonio on Saturday.
Jazz: Play at Houston on Friday.
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