SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 45 points and made a go-ahead free throw with 31.8 seconds left to help the Denver Nuggets beat the depleted Utah Jazz 128-125 on Monday night.
Utah’s Keyonte George, who scored 36 points, was denied two free throws that would have given the Jazz his sixth foul on Nikola Jokic with 16.3 seconds left – a shooting foul that was reversed into a block after a lengthy review.
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Jokic scored 22 points and 12 rebounds and made two free throws with 6.1 seconds left in the game. George missed a three-pointer in the last second and the Nuggets narrowly won.
Cam Johnson was out with an ankle injury, but Julian Strawther scored 15 points and Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points for Denver.
In the second game of back-to-back games, with Jokic coming off the bench and most of his teammates in low spirits, Murray hit five three-pointers in the third quarter and scored 18 points, pushing the Nuggets to a 100-93 lead entering the fourth quarter. Murray made 13 of 19 shots, made 8 three-pointers, and committed 7 turnovers.
George, in his second game back after missing three weeks with a sprained ankle, tied Murray’s field goal percentage with four 3-pointers on 14-for-22 shooting in 30 minutes. With 2 minutes and 13 seconds left in the game, his dunk gave the Jazz a 122-118 lead.
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Lauri Markkanen and most of the Jazz’s starting and rotation regulars were sidelined with injuries, but the Jazz never let the Nuggets’ lead reach double digits.
Kyle Filipowski scored 19 points and Ace Bailey scored 18 for the Jazz, who have lost six straight.
Denver has lost three of four games, including a 117-108 loss to Minnesota on Sunday night, and the streak appears to be taking its toll.
Next
Denver: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Utah: Visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
