Nuggets one win away from Western Conference Finals after Game 5 beatdown

In the second quarter, Jamal Murray stood on the right side of the floor and sized up his prey. Murray was cooking by that point, getting all sorts of leaners and runners from awkward angles to go down. Murray jab stepped, rose up and fired a 3 in Damian Lillard’s face. It fell through the net, one of the final uppercuts in Denver’s second-quarter barrage. Over on Denver’s bench, Nikola Jokic stood up and fired an arrow, mimicking Murray’s signature celebration.

That scene unfolded in a 34-point second quarter for the Nuggets, who rolled past the Trail Blazers 124-98 in Game 5 to take a three games to two series lead. They can clinch a spot in the Western Conference Finals with a win Thursday in Portland.

Jokic and Murray were sublime, and so was Paul Millsap as the series shifted back to Denver after two hard-fought games in Portland. Millsap scored 19 in the first half as Denver built up an 18-point lead going into the break. He wound up with 24 points on an efficient 9-of-17 shooting.

The Nuggets didn’t let their foot off their gas pedal in the third. They won the quarter 28-18 and led by as many as 31.

The starters got so much-deserved rest late. Jokic checked out for good with 3:50 remaining. He finished with 25 points, 19 rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes. Murray scored 18 points in 34 minutes. He also had nine assists and zero turnovers.

Portland lost its will to fight midway through the third quarter. It shot 36.7% from the field. Lillard (22 points) got hardly any help as Denver held CJ McCollum (12 points on 5-of-16 shooting) and the rest of the Trail Blazers in check.

The Nuggets have only made three trips to the Western Conference Finals in franchise history. They’ll try to make it four Thursday.