The Denver Nuggets were about to walk off the Pepsi Center hardwood Sunday night and hit the showers with their playoff hopes all but gone. All the Milwaukee Bucks had to do was inbound the ball with four seconds remaining and wait for Denver to foul.
Jamal Murray had other plans.
Murray jumped in front of Khris Middleton’s inbounds pass and was fouled by Jason Terry on a desperation three-point attempt. The 21-year-old calmly stepped to the line, drained all three free-throws and forced overtime.
The Nuggets won a thriller 128-125 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The sequence at the end of regulation wasn’t the only miracle that occurred Sunday night at Pepsi Center. Denver fell behind by 17 points at the 6:50 mark of the fourth quarter but the Nuggets put on a spirited comeback to close to within three points with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Nuggets forced a Jabari Parker miss but couldn’t execute on their ensuing inbounds play as a pass from Juancho Hernangomez to Paul Millsap clanged off the power forward’s hands and out of bounds giving Milwaukee possession of the ball with five seconds remaining.
Then, Murray happened.
The Nuggets also got all the help they could have asked for in the Western Conference playoff race Sunday. The Pacers beat the Clippers, who entered tonight tied with the Nuggets in the West standings. Oklahoma City topped New Orleans to drop the Pelicans to just 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver. Utah also beat Minnesota.
With the win, Denver moves to within one game of New Orleans for the final playoff spot.
Nikola Jokic finished with a team-high 35 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. Murray scored 27 points and Paul Millsap chipped in 27 points — his third-straight game with at least 20 points.
In the ultimate game of runs, Denver was outscored 34-22 in the first quarter. The Nuggets then outscored the Bucks 41-20 in the second before Milwaukee won the third 38-16.
Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 35 points off the Bucks’ bench. Eric Bledsoe finished with 31 points, five rebounds and six assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 18 points to go with 12 rebounds and six assists before he fouled out with 3:43 left in regulation. He was also hit with a technical upon receiving his sixth personal foul.
The Nuggets host the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
