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Jamal Murray scored a playoff-career-high 36 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 135-125 overtime win over the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Murray caught fire in the fourth quarter and overtime, scoring 10 points in each period as the Nuggets overcame a career-high 57 points from Donovan Mitchell. Murray recorded 10 straight in the fourth quarter to force overtime and scored or assisted on 16 points in extra time.
Nikola Jokic added 29 points and 10 rebounds while Jerami Grant added 19 points and Monte Morris had 14 points in the win. Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 points in his first career playoff game while he added eight rebounds in 31 minutes of work as a starter.
Porter, who was named to the NBA All-Seeding Games Second Team, did most of his work in the first half, recording eight points by halftime. He looked smooth on offense and continued to shoot with confidence after connecting on 3-of-7 attempts from 3-point range.
Michael Porter Jr is gonna be a problem in this league pic.twitter.com/HTLzZ85aTa
— Sports Daily (@SportsDGI) August 17, 2020
Porter looked to be out of sorts at times on defense, though, and missed multiple assignments. He was not on the floor much during the fourth quarter and did not play in the overtime period as the Jazz consistently took advantage of him in pick-and-roll situations.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said young players like Porter will benefit by not having to play in hostile environments but it is clear that he will need to improve defensively in order to be trusted to stay on the floor in crunch time scenarios.
Overall, Game 1 proved to be a learning experience for Porter but the result was likely to be expected considering it was his first playoff game. The Nuggets will work on adjustments for Game 2 and find ways to ensure Porter can stay on the court.
Game 2 between the Nuggets and Jazz will tip-off Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET on TNT.
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