Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, right, goes up for a shot against Denver’s Nikola Jokic during Utah’s 135-127 loss in overtime in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Monday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Ashley Landis/Pool Photo via the Associated Press
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Donovan Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Denver Nuggets beat Utah 135-125 on Monday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the game on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.
Game 2 is Wednesday.
Mitchell was the star of the show in the absence of Mike Conley, who left the NBA bubble to return to Ohio for the birth of his son. Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.
Mitchell was 19 of 33 from the floor and 13 of 13 from the free-throw line. He also had seven assists.
It was no surprise this game went down to the wire. Denver went 3-0 against Utah this season but won by a combined margin of 11 points, including a 134-132 double-overtime thriller on Aug 8.
RAPTORS 134, NETS 110: Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion Raptors beat Brooklyn in the opening game of their first-round playoff series.
VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc as a team. VanVleet also had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game.
Toronto’s accuracy from beyond the arc helped the Raptors grab a 68-35 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. Brooklyn got that margin all the way down to eight late in the third quarter, but the Raptors regained control and won convincingly.
Serge Ibaka scored 22 points off the bench for the Raptors. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists with no turnovers. Marc Gasol scored 13, OG Anunoby had 12 and Terence Davis added 11.
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