DENVER — In Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with the Denver Nuggets, the Clippers didn’t lead until a thrilling 32-9 run gave them a late one-point lead before they lost on a walk-off dunk. The Nuggets built another 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 5 on Tuesday night, but they kept this one safe and sound.

The Clippers inched closer at times, but Nuggets guard Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points, seeming to dash every Clippers’ surge with one of his eight 3-pointers in a 131-115 win.

The Nuggets have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series, with Game 6 on Thursday night at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

The Clippers went on a 17-4 fourth-quarter run to cut their 22-point deficit to single digits at 116-107, but the Nuggets fended off another frenetic finish by fashioning an 11-0 run of their own with Murray scoring six and Aaron Gordon five to compel Clippers coach Tyronn Lue to empty his bench. The dagger was a Murray 30-foot pull-up jumper from the top of the key with 2:13 left.

“Tonight, he played great,” Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said. “He came out, made shots, got hot, found his teammates and we pretty much couldn’t stop him. He played amazing. Russ (Westbrook) came in and played great, as well.”

Murray shot 17 for 26 from the field (8 for 14 from 3-point range), working his way inside then out throughout the game. He started his night with a dunk, found some touch from the midrange and eventually it seemed like he couldn’t miss from behind the arc.

“We knew in Game 5, (Murray) would come out aggressive. He made every shot – pull-up 3s, midrange,” Lue said. “We blitzed him, we dropped, switched, you know, a lot of different coverages. But he had a hell of a game. So as far as us just defensively having that presence to start the game, I think the last three games or so, they’ve really been attacking to start the game early. We’ve gotta be better about that.”

Westbrook chipped in 21 points in his return from a foot injury, Game 4 hero Gordon scored 23 and Nikola Jokic posted his 21st career playoff triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) for Denver. Christian Braun added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

“Holding Joker to 13 points and losing the game is tough,” Lue said. “But that’s how they beat you. If you worry about him too much, other guys can beat you. But I just thought Jamal Murray was excellent tonight.”

Ivica Zubac led the Clippers with a playoff career-high 27 points, and Kawhi Leonard had 20 as they lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 4. After a slow start, Leonard finished 8-of-15 shooting to go with nine rebounds and a season-high 11 assists. It was his first game with double-digit assists since recording a triple-double against the Lakers in January of 2024.

The advantage from behind the 3-point line has swung throughout the series, but has not directly correlated to winning in this matchup. The Clippers and Nuggets were 29th and 30th in the league respectively in 3-point attempts during the regular season. So far in the playoffs, the Nuggets are still dead last, but they made 17 on Tuesday compared to the Clippers’ 11.

The 18-point swing from behind the arc was ultimately the difference in a 16-point game. Lue believes it will be the deciding factor the rest of the way.

“(The Nuggets) making 17 3s and they blew us out. We made 18 3s (in Game 3) and we blew them out,” Lue said. “The 3-point line is going to be the most important thing, so we’ve gotta make sure we take care of that, which we didn’t do a good job of tonight.”

“Just pretty much get out there and contest,” Leonard added. “Some of those shots were just guys being great, but there were probably a couple of wide-open ones, but they knock down shots. That’s why that team is tough.”

Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said some of Murray’s shots “were absolutely ridiculous. And I said before the game it’s coming with him. You know it is, in these big moments, these situations. He was born for this.”

This marked Murray’s best scoring game outside the Disney World bubble during the pandemic.

“When he’s aggressive, we’re a different team,” Westbrook said. “When he’s got that swagger and he’s going out and competing at the level he did tonight, we’re a tough team to beat.”

The Clippers got good help from the supporting cast, particularly Bogdan Bogdanovic (18 points, five assists) and Kris Dunn (15 points). Bogdanovic’s point total was more than he had scored in the first four games of the series combined. He brought energy to the third-quarter surge when he and former Clipper Westbrook talked themselves into double technical fouls after a hard foul.

After missing Game 4 with the inflammation in his foot, Westbrook scored 16 of his 21 in the first half and finished 8-of-15 shooting (3 for 6 from 3-point range) off the bench.

Down by double digits for much of the third quarter, the Clippers got within eight points with a 7-0 run that included a Bogdanovic corner 3-pointer, a Leonard tip-in and steal, then a Norman Powell layup. They never pulled any closer.

Braun also provided stellar defense against Clippers guard James Harden, who scored 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting with four turnovers. For the second straight game, he didn’t speak with reporters afterward.

For Zubac, there shouldn’t be a need to have to come back from huge deficits all the time.

“We’ve got to start games better. Every game except for Game 1 (when the Clippers at one point had a 15-point lead), we’ve started bad. We were playing catch-up pretty much all game,” Zubac said. “We definitely have to come out with better energy and physicality because it’s hard to chase a lead the whole game.

“They won a championship (in 2023). They know what it takes, they know how to hold those leads. So we definitely can’t get into a hole to start the game.”

In NBA history, teams that win Game 5 when a best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 go on to win 81% of the time (191-44).

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