The NBA could not have asked for a better game to open the 2020 playoffs with the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz going into overtime to decide a winner in this first-round matchup. Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray exchanged shots back and forth in the stretch, but eventually Murray’s play in overtime led the Nuggets to a 135-125 win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Mitchell finished the game with 57 points, becoming the youngest player since Michael Jordan to set up 50-plus points in a playoff game. It turned out that the Jazz were in control for the majority of the second half, and looked like they might be able to pick up this win. However, an all-star effort from Murray forced overtime, and his play – like a meltdown for Utah in OT – became the deciding factor. Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in OT to secure the win for Denver, ending the game just sadly for a double-double with nine assists.
The 1-2 punch of Murray and Nikola Jokic proved too much for Utah, as the sweet-shooting 7-footer showed his offensive versatility in the first half of the game, finishing the game with 29 points and 10 boards . A wide open 3-pointer from Jokic with two minutes to go in overtime extended Denver’s lead to nine, being the game for the Nuggets in essence. Here are three takeaways from Denver’s thrilling victory over the Jazz.
1. Jamal Murray’s late explosion
Originating in the playoffs, Murray only played in four of Denver’s eight seeding games due to tightness of left hamstring, and despite solid performances toward the end of the seeding schedule, it was unclear if Murray’s condition would be up to playoff standards. Murray himself even said he was “gauze” back after his first seeding game, so there was no telling if he would be willing to go 100 percent off the bat in this game.
Well, those worries quickly disappeared in the second quarter of the game, when Murray went on a 12-0 run of his own, and then repeatedly yelled at his teammates “they don’t want it!” after Utah called a timeout. The fourth-year guard then increased his game even further in the stretch, putting up 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined. Head coach Mike Malone said after the game that Murray “matched fire with fire,” with Mitchell, who shot after the shot to keep the Jazz in the game.
With Gary Harris and Will Barton still on the sidelines for Denver, Murray needed to take his game to another level on offense, and he responded that ten times. It wasn’t just that Murray stepped up points left and right; the difficulty of his bowling increased simply each time the ball left his hands. He went 6 of 9 from outside the arc, regularly blowing Joe Ingles to the defense with his speed to the court. Murray came up huge for Denver, now he will have to continue that game level for the duration of this series.
2. The meltdown of Utah in overtime
The Jazz really looked like they would escape with this win. They were up at four with up, just under two minutes to play, on the strength of Mitchell’s absurd offensive performance. However, they simply could not respond to Murray’s score to close out the fourth quarter. However, Mitchell made his best Dwyane Wade impression in the entire second half, and just based on his fourth quarter only, to feel as Utah would pull this out.
Instead, Denver struggled defensively, forcing four straight turns to open OT, two by Mitchell and the other two by Ingles and Gobert. Suddenly, the 51 points scored by Mitchell in those four quarters seemed unstoppable, and it became very clear that the Jazz Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley were missing out in this game. In addition to Mitchell’s six points in overtime, Jordan Clarkson was the second to highest scorer in OT with four points. Gobert did not attempt a single shot, despite the fact that Jokic showed no signs of setting up any defensive resistance against the French great man. Utah will get Conley back in the playoffs at some point – maybe even in this series – but any scenario like this, where defense is chasing Mitchell and the second-best scoring option on the floor is Clarkson, becomes clear that the presence of Bogdanovic is sorely missed.
It will take a more balanced effort from Utah, from players like Royce O’Neale, Georges Niang and others for the Jazz to have a chance in this game. Utah can’t put all this on Mitchell to put up 50-plus points per night, only for the team to lose.
3. The NBA could not have asked for a better opener
While it may not be rated gold as a LeBron James-leading game, the Nuggets and Jazz delivered from an entertainment perspective. Mitchell and Murray traded blushes in the fourth quarter and overtime had a real Game 7 feel of the NBA Finals, not the first game of the entire playoffs, and that’s a good thing. There will definitely be some dudes in the first round, especially since the Bucks and Raptors take over the Magic and Nets respectively, but you could not predict the postseason better than this. The game quality in the NBA bubble was already excellent, and that was just the tail end of the regular season. If this Nuggets Jazz game is any indication we’re in for it as it’s later in the playoffs, then the competition could easily be saved, knowing that at least the product placed on the floor is as good like when these guys play in packed arenas.
