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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: Jamal Murray helped Donovan Mitchell off the court to give him a handshake and a hug, a show of respect among the players who had a memorable battle in the bubble.
They traded historic offensive fireworks for six games, before Game 7 turned into an old-fashioned defensive fight.
”It was a great battle. I do not know what else to say. I’m speechless, ”Murray said.
The ending left everyone speechless.
Nikola Jokic made the tiebreaker basket with 27 seconds left and the Nuggets advanced to the second round of the playoffs, beating the Utah Jazz 80-78 on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) when Mike Conley’s 3-pointer rang on the bell.
The Nuggets became the twelfth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series, but only after they blew a 19-point lead in this game.
“A lot of teams would have given up, especially considering we’ve been here 57 days away from our families,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
After Jokic’s basket, the Jazz passed the ball to Mitchell after a timeout. The Nuggets stole it and ran for a fast break, but Torrey Craig missed the layup. Utah bounced back and pushed the ball across the floor toward Conley, whose shot looked good until he fell.
“It looked good, man. Sometimes it’s just the way it works, ”Mitchell said.
“We fought hard and came back. I’d go to war with any of these guys in the locker room, with any of these trainers. We could have easily scored it in the first half. We have courage and fight. That’s all you can really ask for. “
Jokic had 30 points and 14 rebounds and Murray had 17 points. No. 3 seed Denver advanced to meet the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.
“Before the show started, I felt like it was going to be an interesting show. But after 3-1 I didn’t think it was going to be that interesting, ”Jokic said. “So I’m glad I won the game and I’m glad I won the series.”
Mitchell scored 22 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds after a great second half for the Jazz.
Murray shot just 7 of 21, a far cry from his performances in the last three games. So the Nuggets turned more to Jokic, their All-Star center who threw a short hook shot down the line after the Jazz tied at 78.
“That’s when you need Nikola to step up,” Malone said.
Murray and Mitchell became the first player pair to have two 50-point games in the same series, but the men in the middle were the biggest factors in this one.
After a quiet first half in which Mitchell was all the Jazz had, Gobert began to dominate the paint, keeping possessions alive on offense and stopping Denver’s units on defense.
But the Nuggets prevailed in their third Game 7 in the past two years, having defeated San Antonio in the first round last year before being knocked out by Portland. They played three more life and death games in the bubble to extend their stay.
Denver controlled the first half and had a 19-point lead in the third quarter. Mitchell then scored nine straight points before Conley hit a triple that brought him down to 55-48. The Jazz lowered it to 65-60 after Gobert converted a three-point play for the final points of the period.
Utah then got the first eight of the quarter, Gobert’s last six, to open a 68-65 lead.
“What I remember tonight is we were dead in the water in the first half and we weren’t playing well in many ways,” Utah coach Quin Snyder said. ”Our group kept working and competing. That is as important to me as everything that happened in the game. “
The Jazz won three games in a row after Denver took the opener in overtime, and they were ready to end the series when they led by 15 points in the second half of Game 5.
But Murray, who had scored 50 points in Game 4, bounced back from the Nuggets and finished with 42, then came back with 50 again in Game 6, a total of 142 in three games that had been beaten in the playoffs only by Jerry. West and Michael. Jordan.
