Jamal Murray scores 50 again as Nuggets force Game 7 against Jazz

Jamal Murray has thrived on offense this postseason. The Denver Nuggets star’s impressive scoring is the biggest reason the Western Conference team’s playoff hopes are still alive.

In Sunday’s Game 6 against the Utah Jazz, Murray scored 50 points in the Nuggets’ 119-107 victory at Walt Disney World.

Game 7 of the first-round series will be played on Tuesday. The winner awaits a showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals. The Clippers ousted Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 111-97 in Game 6 on Sunday.

“I just want to win … in life you find things that hold value to you, “Murray declared after the game, “find things to fight for, and we found things worth fighting for in the NBA as a collective unit.”

Also Sunday, the Boston Celtics beat the defending champion Toronto Raptors 112-94 in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jamal Murray outduels Jazz star

In an exciting duel, Jamal Murray outscored Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 44 points. Murray had 21 fourth-quarter points, while Mitchell poured in 17.

The Nuggets stalwart, a fourth-year pro, drained 9 of 12 3-pointers and made 17 of 24 shots from the floor. He leads all players in playoff scoring (37.6 points per game). The 23-year-old also had 50 points in Game 5 on August 23.

In his latest dominant performance this postseason, Murray set a record for most points (204) by a Canadian in a playoff series. He surpassed former Phoenix Suns floor leader Steve Nash’s 182 total points, which he scored against the Dallas Mavericks in 2005.

Notable numbers

Jamal Murray became the first player since Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson in 2001 to have three straight playoff games with 40 or more points What’s more, he joined Mitchell and Michael Jordan and Iverson as the only NBA players with two 50-point games in the same playoff series.

Paying tribute

Asked about his sneakers which had images that resembled George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two African-Americans who were killed by white police officers this year, Murray explained it this way: “Even though these people are gone, they give me life, they help me find strength to keep fight in this world.”

Murray did not compete for Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

Series details

Utah, the No. 6 seed, held a 3-1 series lead by winning Games 2, 3 and 4. Jamal Murray then carried the Nuggets to a must-win Game 5 with a 42-point effort.