Jokic and Murray dominate as Nuggets take 2-1 lead over Miami

MIAMI, United States - Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dominated the Miami Heat, both making triple doubles, as the Denver Nuggets took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals and regained their home court advantage with a 109-94 win in game three on Wednesday.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 32 points with 21 rebounds and 10 assists, an unprecedented triple-double combination in an NBA Finals game.

Murray scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was the first time any team in a Finals had two players making triple-doubles in the same game.

Miami simply could not find a way to handle the 6 foot, 11-inch (2.11m) Jokic and unless coach Erik Spoelstra can come up with a plan before Friday's game four, the Heat are going to face an uphill battle.

Jokic became the first player in NBA history to reach the 30 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists mark in a Finals game but took little interest in that achievement.

"To be honest, not much. I'm just glad that we won a game," he said.

"It was a big one for us just because they won in our arena, so we just didn’t want to go down 2-1," he added.

"We were just, I think, more locked in, more focused ... We've got to win the next one, that's our mindset."

After Miami's win in Denver on Sunday, the Nuggets provided the perfect response with the kind of imposing display that coach Michael Malone demanded, and which will have answered any doubts that may have emerged after that loss.

Neither team could get on top in the first quarter, which ended 24-24 after a wonderful turnaround, fadeaway, jump shot from Miami's Kyle Lowry.

But the Heat struggled to contain Murray, who put up 20 points in the first half, while Jokic almost had a triple double by half-time -- the giant Serbian claiming 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the opening two quarters.

The Nuggets led 53-48 at the half, helped by Miami's lack of precision in the paint where they missed 16 of 25 attempts.

Early in the third though, Denver took a grip on the contest, quickly opening up an 11-point lead. Miami couldn't find either the defensive answers or the offensive potency to get back in the game.

Denver had pushed the lead to 21 with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter and although Miami narrowed the deficit as the Nuggets took their foot off the gas, a third straight loss on home court leaves Spoelstra with plenty to ponder.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points while Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets 'haven't done a damn thing' in NBA Finals, says coach

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone told his players on Saturday that they "haven't done a damn thing" despite an opening-game romp over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets, led by 27 points from Nikola Jokic and 26 by Jamal Murray, ripped visiting Miami 104-93 on Thursday for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series ahead of Sunday's game two in Denver.

But Malone was not pleased about the opportunities the Nuggets allowed the Heat and urged players not to get swelled heads with pride over winning without playing their best.

"I told our players today, 'Don't read the paper, don't listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we've done something, because we haven't done a damn thing,'" Malone said.

"I told our players the reason I was excited this morning is because we won game one and we didn't play well and there are so many things we can do better. If we do those things at a better level, we'll have a chance to win game two."

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 10 rebounds and 14 assists while Murray also contributed 10 assists as the Nuggets led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before the Heat trimmed the margin in the final quarter.

"They were 5-of-16 on wide-open threes," Malone said of Miami's long-range shooting. "The fact they got 16 wide-open threes is problematic and if you think that Max Strus is going to go 0-for-9 again or Duncan Robinson is going to go 1-for-5 again, you're wrong.

"The fourth quarter, we gave up 30 points, 60% from the field, 6-of-12 from the three-point line.

"I thought our pick-and-roll defense was poor. I thought our shrink the floor was poor... There are so many areas we can clean up.

"I'm not worried about what they're going to do. I'm worried about the things that we have to do better to try to win game two."

Malone said he stressed tougher defending against Bam Adebayo, who led the Heat with 26 points.

"If you're going to score 26 points on 25 shots, that's something we're willing to live with," Malone said. "But we can do a better job. That's something we talked about, giving him different looks, making sure we're contesting, making sure we're shrinking the floor."

Malone is less concerned about making strategy adjustments than he is about matching what he expects will be a higher energy level from the Heat on Sunday.

"I expect the Miami Heat to come out with a much greater energy and force and attack mindset," he said.

- 'Going to be better' -

Serbian superstar Jokic said the Nuggets stumbled with their large fourth-quarter lead.

"In the first three quarters, they score (63) points. I think that's really amazing. And then they scored 30 in the fourth," Jokic said.

"Some possessions we play amazing and some possessions we didn't play good. Some quarters we played really good. That's basketball. That's why it's a live thing. You cannot predict what's going to happen.

"Of course we're going to be better, but we're going to take 1-0 for us. Just being focused for 48 minutes, I think that's going to be the key."

Denver forward Aaron Gordon, who scored 16 points in the opener, said the Nuggets can't relax on Miami even with a big lead.

"You just can't be complacent with this team," he said. "You can't be lackadaisical. You can't sleep on this team. This team has no quit. They will continue to fight through the entirety of the game. You can't take your foot off the gas with these guys.

"We need to cut down on the number of open looks that they get. Getting back in transition, keeping them off the offensive glass, and then just tightening up on the defensive end as well."

In a city thrilled about the Nuggets' first NBA Finals trip, the players must contain themselves.

"You have to keep a poise, like an intense energy but calm, while everybody else is really frenetic, " Gordon said. "It's important to just make the main thing the main thing and be focused on the task at hand."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Murray leads Nuggets rally in 108-103 win over Lakers

Jamal Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as a furious finale carried the Denver Nuggets to a 108-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and a 2-0 lead in their NBA Western Conference final series.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic racked up another triple-double with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for the Nuggets, but it was Murray who starred when it mattered most.

He made six of seven shots, including four of five from three-point range, playing all 12 minutes of a final period in which Jokic and fellow starters Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon went scoreless.

Murray's exploits were enough for a Nuggets team that had kept it close but couldn't find a way past LeBron James and the Lakers through the first three periods at Denver's Ball Arena.

"The game would've been a lot easier if I made them the first half," said Murray, adding he was able to refocus after missing some open shots and was encouraged by his teammates to keep shooting.

"Just come out focused and knock them down," he said of his second-half goal. "Don't lose any confidence or anything like that. Just play my game and know they're going to fall if I keep shooting them."

James and Austin Reaves scored 22 points apiece for the Lakers and Japanese reserve forward Rui Hachimura delivered a brilliant 21 points off the bench, but the Lakers couldn't stem the tide once Murray got going.

Two days after the Nuggets used a dominant first quarter to take control on the way to a game-one victory, it was all tied up at the end of one period.

The Lakers pushed their lead to as many as 11 in the second quarter before coming up empty on 10 straight attempts -- a dry spell ended by James's driving finger-roll layup.

James, who also had nine rebounds and 10 assists, then found Hachimura for an alley-oop dunk that put the Lakers up 53-48 at halftime.

Anthony Davis made just four of 15 shots on the way to 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who nevertheless pushed the lead back to 11 midway through the third as James came up with a steal and raced for a dunk.

But again the Nuggets clawed back, pulling level at 74-74 on Murray's pull-up jumper with 2:10 left in the third, only for the Lakers to pull away again to lead by three, 79-76, going into the final period.

Murray the man 

With 9:21 left to play a Murray three-pointer gave the Nuggets the lead for the first time since the first quarter -- and they wouldn't fall behind again.

"I think he was amazing," Jokic said. "When it mattered the most, he made shots and he won us the game, basically."

Denver made seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter -- one less than the Lakers had in the entire contest. Not only did Murray make four of them, he had two steals that set up Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. to hit from beyond the arc.

"Only one of them was uncontested," James said. "Two of Jamal's threes was right in the face of me and AD (Davis).

"The three-point line is what killed us in the fourth, but I didn't see many (defensive) breakdowns though."

Murray, who starred as the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals in 2020 but missed the last two post-seasons after tearing a left knee ligament in April of 2021, said the Nuggets will need to show the same poise in Game 3 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

"The crowd's going to be into it. They're going to run, they're going to play with a lot of pace, a lot of energy. We've got to be able to handle that."

James said the Lakers, who have won seven straight at home starting with the play-in tournament, can't afford to be complacent about a return to Crypto.com Arena.

"We can't go into any post-season game with comfort," he said. "You've got to be even more on edge when you go home."

The winner of the series will play either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Nuggets escape 23-point hole, down Spurs

Jamal Murray scored 26 points, Paul Millsap had 22 points, and the host Denver Nuggets rallied from a 23-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 127-120, on Monday night.

Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, Monte Morris added 16 points off the bench, and Torrey Craig had 11 points and seven rebounds to help the Nuggets win their third straight and their eight in 10 games.

LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 33 points, Derrick White scored 15, Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes scored 14 each, and Rudy Gay had 13 for the struggling Spurs. San Antonio has lost five straight and eight of 10.

It was the first meeting between the teams since the first round of the 2019 playoffs. Denver, the second seed, prevailed in a Game 7 on its home court. The Spurs scored just 86 points in that elimination game, but they had matched that total with 6:49 left in the third quarter Monday.

Aldridge scored 15 of the first 28 San Antonio points and had 17 in the first quarter. The Spurs went 7-for-9 from the 3-point arc in the opening period and led 40-30 after one.

They continued that hot shooting at the start of the second, going up, 47-32, in the first 1:09. Denver cut the deficit to 51-43, but a 9-0 run gave San Antonio a 17-point lead.

The Spurs led, 67-53, at halftime. Aldridge hit a 3-pointer and a couple of baskets as the Spurs increased their lead to 86-63 midway through the third quarter.

Denver came storming back, using a 26-7 surge in the last 6:33 of the period to cut the deficit to four. The Nuggets drained a trio of 3-pointers to end the third, and then Millsap and Murray hit two more to tie the game at 95 with 11:16 left.

It was tied at 99 when Millsap gave Denver its first lead with a 3-pointer, but San Antonio responded with eight straight points to retake the lead. Murray scored eight Denver straight points, Gary Harris and Craig hit 3-pointers, and Murray had another from deep to cap a 17-2 run and make it 119-109.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Murray, Jokic lead Nuggets to sweep of Suns

Jamal Murray scored 36 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 points, and the Denver Nuggets completed a season sweep of the Phoenix Suns, 117-108, Saturday at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Denver came into Saturday's matchup off two days rest, last playing Wednesday in a win at Utah. However, Phoenix -- playing the second leg of a back-to-back -- surged ahead in the first quarter.

The Suns were coming off a blowout Friday night of the Houston Rockets, in which Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 39 points. He followed up with 20 points against Denver, and cooled off significantly from 3-point range.

Oubre shot 3-of-11 from beyond the arc after going 7-of-9 on Friday.

The back-to-back, coupled with the starters playing extended minutes, seemingly wore on Phoenix. Both Oubre and Deandre Ayton -- who finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds -- logged 42 minutes. Devin Booker, who scored 21 points but shot just 5-of-16 from the floor, played 37 minutes.

In contrast, no Nugget played more than Gary Harris' 36 minutes.

The Suns came into Saturday's contest with a bevy of injuries, including Dario Saric, Aron Baynes and Ty Jerome. Their situation was not unlike that of the Nuggets on Wednesday, when coach Mike Malone used just seven players.

Depth was not as dire for Denver on Saturday, with Paul Millsap back in the rotation. He registered a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Denver also got significant minutes from Monte Morris, who scored 11 points and dished five assists. Murray was the driving force for the Nuggets offensively, though.

He shot a blistering 14-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Murray added five rebounds and five assists, as well.

Jokic, who registered just the third 30/20/10 triple-double since the NBA-ABA merger in Wednesday's win, grabbed nine rebounds and doled out six assists Saturday.

With the win, Denver finishes the 2019-20 season a perfect 4-0 against the Suns. The Nuggets are winners of seven of their last nine, with two more to play ahead of next week's All-Star break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Jokic racks up triple-double as Nuggets fend off Wolves

Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Jamal Murray scored 28 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-100 on Friday night.

Will Barton added 13 and Paul Millsap and Gary Harris scored 11 each for Denver, which won all five games on its current homestand.


Minnesota played its second straight game without center Karl-Anthony Towns and lost its ninth in a row. Towns, who leads the Timberwolves in scoring (26.5) and rebounds (11.7) per game, is nursing a sprained left knee.

Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points, Gorgui Dieng had 18, Jeff Teague finished with 13 and Robert Covington 10 for Minnesota.

The Timberwolves were able to withstand an early push by Denver to keep it a game in the second half.

Trailing 63-51 in the first minute of the third quarter, Minnesota went on a 9-2 run to get within 65-60. The teams traded baskets and free throws to keep it at five, but Dieng hit consecutive 3-pointers to cut Denver's lead to 72-70 and prompt a Nuggets timeout.

The Timberwolves had two chances to tie or take the lead before Malik Beasley hit a corner 3-pointer, and Murray scored nine points in the quarter to make it 82-75 heading into the fourth.

Denver opened up a 91-80 lead on Barton's layup with 8:46 left. Covington shot an air ball on a 3-point attempt, and Beasley hit another corner shot from deep to put the Nuggets ahead 97-84.

Minnesota called a timeout, but 3-pointers by Murray and Jokic gave Denver a 19-point lead, their biggest of the game.

The Nuggets used hot shooting to race out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter. Denver made 12 of its first 13 shots and led 31-14 and 33-16, and then missed its last five shots of the quarter, allowing Minnesota to get back into it.

The lead was still 17 until the Timberwolves scored 13 straight to make it 44-40 midway through the second. The Nuggets built their lead back to 10 at halftime.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Nuggets rout Lakers for 4th straight win

Paul Millsap had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 20 and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-85, on Tuesday night.

Malik Beasley also had 20 points to establish a career high, and Nikola Jokic had 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and for the Nuggets. Denver has won four straight after dropping six of its previous seven.

The Lakers were 5 of 35 from behind the 3-point line and shot just 39.1 percent overall. Kyle Kuzma, who led Los Angeles with 21 points, was 1-for-7 from long range, and LeBron James missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

James finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Denver took control of the game in the third quarter with a strong push out of the locker room. Jokic hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to quickly make it a 14-point lead.

Millsap hit a couple of baskets, including an up-and-under baseline jumper that gave the Nuggets a 74-58 lead midway through the period.

Denver ended the quarter when Mason Plumlee tipped in a Trey Lyles miss with 2.1 seconds left for an 89-71 advantage.

Plumlee finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nuggets put it away early in the fourth. Murray and Lyles hit 3-pointers, and after Kuzma hit a floater, Lyles drained a turnaround jumper to give Denver a 104-78 lead with 7:29 left.

James and the rest of the starters sat on the bench the rest of the game as Denver closed it out.

Millsap had a strong first half, scoring 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds in 13 minutes. Murray, who has had some animated moments against Los Angeles the past two seasons, had 15 points to help Denver take a 58-50 halftime lead.

He also added another wrinkle in his personal back-and-forth with the Lakers, waiving at Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after he hit a layup in the second quarter.

The Nuggets played without guard and second-leading scorer Gary Harris. Harris left Friday's game against Orlando with left ankle soreness and has been inactive the past two games.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Harris, Millsap lead Nuggets past T-wolves

Jamal Murray scored 18 points, including two free throws with 6.8 seconds left, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-101 in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.

Paul Millsap scored 12 of his game-high 25 points during a decisive third quarter and Gary Harris had 18 points for Denver.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and seven rebounds, and Derrick Rose had 20 points off the bench for Minnesota.

Denver led by 13 early in the fourth quarter when its offense went cold and Minnesota got hot. Rose hit four free throws, Dario Saric had a three-point play and then Rose hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle in a 12-0 run that cut the Nuggets' lead to 89-88.

Harris and Rose traded 3-pointers, and then Harris hit a layup to give Denver a 94-91 lead. After both teams missed, Nikola Jokic hit a 3-pointer to put the Nuggets up 97-91 with 3:07 left.

The Timberwolves got within two on a steal and dunk, but Harris hit a layup and Millsap a runner to make it 101-95.

Minnesota scored four straight but had to foul Murray, who drained two free throws to clinch it.

The Nuggets trailed 56-50 at halftime but caught fire on both ends of the floor in the third quarter. Denver hit 14-of-24 shots and had six steals to take the lead for good.

Harris scored his only points of the third to get things rolling and Millsap had a bucket, split two free throws and then hit a step-back jumper to give the Nuggets a 57-56 lead.

After Andrew Wiggins hit a 3-pointer for the Timberwolves, Murray hit one from behind the arc and Millsap scored seven straight Denver points to put the Nuggets ahead 67-65.

Millsap's 3-pointer started a 16-2 Nuggets run that gave them an 80-67 lead with 1:56 left in the period. Millsap left the game early in the run to get stitches above his left eye and returned midway through the fourth quarter.

Denver outscored Minnesota 35-18 in the third to lead 85-74.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Nuggets edge Timberwolves, tie them for last playoff spot

Jamal Murray scored 22 points and Devin Harris made five 3-pointers while notching 20 points as the Denver Nuggets recorded a pivotal 100-96 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.

Nikola Jokic registered 16 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists and Will Barton added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets won their fourth consecutive game. 

Paul Millsap contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and Wilson Chandler scored 10 points.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out for Minnesota. Taj Gibson posted 17 points and 14 rebounds, Jeff Teague scored 15 points and Nemanja Bjelica had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Denver's victory leaves both teams with records of 44-35 with three games remaining. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker edge and currently possesses the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference but the squads close the regular season against one another on April 11 in Minneapolis.

"It is a huge win for us," Jokic said during a postgame interview on TNT. "We get back in the playoff position with this win."

Minnesota trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter and finally caught the Nuggets at 90 with 3:19 left. Bjelica followed with a 3-pointer to push the Timberwolves ahead.

Barton answered with a basket and then Towns fouled out with 1:46 remaining with Murray hitting the two free throws to give Denver a 94-93 lead. 

Chandler and Millsap each knocked down two free throws as the Nuggets took a five-point lead with 34.1 seconds left.

Gibson converted a three-point play with 30.2 seconds left to pull the Timberwolves within 98-96. Jokic put the game away with a tip-in with 4.3 seconds to play.

The Timberwolves held a 72-68 lead after a basket by Gorgui Dieng with 2:33 left in the third quarter. But Harris caught fire with three 3-pointers in the final 91 seconds of the quarter as the Nuggets scored 11 straight to take a 79-72 lead into the final stanza.

Towns had 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half as Minnesota possessed a 54-51 lead at the break.

The Timberwolves opened the second half with a 17-6 burst to turn a three-point deficit into a 41-33 advantage. Denver responded with a 14-6 run to knot the score at 47 on Barton's dunk with 1:39 remaining.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nuggets rally past Bucks for OT win

Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots to help the Denver Nuggets recover from an 18-point, fourth-quarter deficit and post a crucial 128-125 overtime victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.

Jamal Murray recorded 27 points and seven assists, and Paul Millsap contributed 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for Denver (42-35). Will Barton had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who moved within one game of the eighth-place New Orleans Pelicans (43-34) for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Jabari Parker scored a season-best 35 points on 14-of-23 shooting and collected 10 rebounds while Eric Bledsoe had 31 points and six assists for Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Khris Middleton added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Tyler Zeller also scored 15 points for the Bucks.

Despite the collapse, Milwaukee (41-36) is tied with the Miami Heat for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. The ninth-place Detroit Pistons are four games back with five games remaining.

Denver emerged out of seemingly nowhere to force overtime. The Nuggets scored eight points in the final 58 seconds of regulation, the last three coming after Murray stole the ball and was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds to go. He made all three free throws to tie the score at 111.

Denver led by seven on three occasions in the overtime, but Parker's 3-pointer pulled the Bucks within 125-121 with 29.8 seconds left. Two layups by Bledsoe allowed Milwaukee to trim its deficit to 126-125 with 7.8 seconds left.

Denver's Malik Beasley sank two free throws to make it a three-point margin with 7.1 seconds left, but Parker missed a 3-point attempt and the Nuggets prevailed.

The Bucks trailed by nine points at halftime before outscoring Denver 38-16 in the third quarter.

Milwaukee began the second half with a 13-2 push, and Bledsoe's 3-pointer gave the Bucks a 67-65 lead with 7:31 left in the third quarter. Another 13-2 run later in the period -- capped by Bledsoe's 2-point hoop -- provided Milwaukee with an 82-72 edge with 3:25 remaining.

Bledsoe's 11-footer made it 88-74 with 1:40 left before the Bucks took a 13-point lead into the final stanza.

A basket by Antetokounmpo gave Milwaukee a 102-84 lead with 7:34 remaining. The Bucks led by 17 before Denver used a 12-2 run to pull within 107-100 with 3:26 left.

A three-point play by Murray and a floater by Jokic pulled the Nuggets within 111-108 with 30.6 seconds to play.

Denver trailed by 14 in the opening minute of the second quarter before erupting on a 30-5 surge to take a 52-41 advantage. The Nuggets took a 63-54 lead into the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Jokic records triple-double as Nuggets beat Pistons

Jamal Murray scored 26 points and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Denver Nuggets brushed aside the Detroit Pistons, 120-113, on Thursday night in Denver.

Will Barton added 23 points for Denver, which won for the fifth time in eight March games to move within a half game of eighth-placed Utah for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.


Blake Griffin had 26 points, nine assists and six boards while Dwight Buycks added 22 points and Andre Drummond totaled 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons.

Reggie Bullock returned after a one-game absence with a back injury. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 35 minutes for Detroit, which lost for the sixth time in seven games this month.

The Pistons trail Miami by five and a half games for the East's final playoff spot.

Denver was up 65-51 at halftime and led by as many as 26 points before Detroit got hot from 3-point range with seven treys in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 14 points at 98-84 entering the fourth.

A pair of Buycks free throws brought the Pistons within 102-97 with 6:55 remaining. Back-to-back buckets from Gary Harris capped by a three-point play with 6:22 to go restored the Nuggets' lead to 10.

Buycks' jumper with 1:20 on the clock had Detroit within 113-107 before Barton's driving layup 19 seconds leader put Denver up eight.

Griffin's 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds left gave Detroit momentary life before Murray hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to seal the win.

source: news.abs-cbn.com