Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets took on the LA Clippers in the first playoff game at Intuit Dome, looking to take the upper hand in their first-round series, which was tied at 1-1.
Murray had been key for Denver in the first two games, averaging 22.0 points on 46.7% shooting from beyond the arc. At halftime, Murray and Gordon shared team-high honors for Denver with 13 points apiece.
In nearly 10 minutes of first-quarter action, Murray chipped in five points, while Aaron Gordon paced the Nuggets with 11 and Nikola Jokic stuffed the stat sheet with six points, seven assists and four rebounds while logging the full 12 minutes.
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But the Clippers came out blazing from 3-point range, sinking nine of their 13 attempts — punctuated by a buzzer-beating triple from Nic Batum — to take a 35-28 lead at the end of the opening frame.
James Harden was in control early, topping the Clippers’ scoring with 13.
Murray found more rhythm offensively in the second quarter, adding eight more points, but the Nuggets’ offense stumbled as they were outscored 30-19 by the surging Clippers.
John Ezekiel Hirro is an experienced NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda, with over five years in the field as a news correspondent, sports writer, and Editor-in-Chief. His sports writing career began in high school, where he garnered numerous accolades, including being named the national sports writing champion in 2016.
He earned his journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines in 2024 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Varsitarian, the university’s official student publication, for four years—the longest in history.
A passionate basketball enthusiast, he became a fan of the OKC Thunder during the Russ-KD-Harden era. Russell Westbrook, his all-time favorite athlete, impressed him by stepping up as MVP after Kevin Durant’s departure. His current favorite players include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who he believes are the future of the OKC franchise.
He excels in game analysis and rapid news story turnaround, drawing inspiration from the journalistic styles of Woj and Shams. He emphasizes thorough research to ensure accuracy in his articles. One of his most memorable moments is Russell Westbrook breaking Oscar Robertson’s record with his 42nd triple-double and securing a 106-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Outside of writing, he enjoys listening to music and creating Spotify playlists.
