Nuggets take Game 1, 135-125, as Mitchell scores 57

Still without Will Barton and Gary Harris, the Denver Nuggets took on the short-handed Utah Jazz  on Monday afternoon in the first game of the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

The Utah Jazz, who already lost Bojan Bogdanovic for the season after undergoing wrist surgery, also played Monday’s game without their starting point guard Mike Conley, who left the Orlando Bubble for the birth of his son.

Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic wasted no time getting going in the first, as he finished the quarter with 10 points and three rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. and Torrey Craig both knocked down a pair of threes, and Jamal Murray totaled just two points and two assists in the first.

Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert carried the Jazz during the first period, as they combined for 13 points, but Denver led 31-25 at the end of one.

Utah’s Jordan Clarkson converted an off-balance, step-back three-pointer to begin the second, cutting Denver’s lead to three (31-28). But the Nuggets then went on a 10-3 run to push their lead to 10 (41-31) with 8:37 remaining.

Donovan Mitchell threw down a double-clutch slam with 8:11 remaining, which sparked a 12-point run where Mitchell scored or assisted on all of Utah’s baskets. Fortunately for the Nuggets, Murray responded with a 12-0 run himself and the Jazz took a timeout with 4:11 remaining as the Nuggets lead 55-45.

Both teams combined for just nine points in the final three minutes of the quarter, and the Nuggets led the Jazz 59-52 heading into the break.

Mitchell led all scorers with 19 points at the half but Murray and Jokic combined for 27 points through the first two quarters. Porter Jr. totaled eight points and six rebounds through two periods, while Ingles chipped in 10 points and four assists for the Jazz.

Utah started the second half on a 7-0 run and tied the game at 59 before Denver took a timeout with 9:26 remaining. Out of the timeout though, Denver went on a 9-2 run and pushed their lead back to seven (68-61).

With 4:36 remaining, an acrobatic Mitchell layup gave Utah their first lead since the first quarter (70-68). Following a Gobert second-chance score off a missed free-throw, Denver took another timeout with 3:53 remaining down three (73-70). Utah finished the quarter on a 8-2 run and took their largest lead of the game (83-78) heading into the fourth.

The Nuggets started the fourth on an 11-7 run and brought the game within one (90-89) before Utah took a timeout with 7:46 remaining. Out of the timeout though, Jerami Grant knocked down a three-pointer with a few seconds left on the shot-clock, and then received a touchdown pass from Jokic to put the Nuggets up one (94-93) with 6:41 remaining.

Mitchell sustained his dominance in the game though, scoring nine straight points out of a Utah timeout. Following a Gobert dunk, Utah took a one-point lead (104-103) and Denver took a timeout with 3:25 remaining.

With 1:39 remaining, following an 8-second violation by the Jazz, Murray knocked down a 3-pointer to bring Denver within one (109-108). Following two Mitchell free-throws, Murray converted another three-pointer and tied the game at 111.

Murray then hit a 19-foot jumper and gave Denver a two-point lead, but a Mitchell step-back jumper on the ensuing possession tied the game at 113.

After two Jokic free-throws, Mitchell drew a shooting foul himself and tied the game once again at 115. Gobert contested a potential Jokic game-winning layup on the final possession of regulation, which was off the mark, and the game went into overtime.

Denver came out firing in the extra time, going on an 11-2 run and taking a 126-117 lead before Utah took a timeout. Murray then answered baskets from both Clarkson and Mitchell and following two free-throws from Grant, the Nuggets took a 135-125 lead, which was the final score of the game.

Mitchell put on a performance for the ages, scoring a career-high 57 points, which also ranks third all-time for a single playoff game, and totaled nine rebounds and seven assists. But Jokic and Murray also started the Playoffs on the right track, as Murray scored 36 points on 13-20 shooting and Jokic scored 29 points on 11-21 shooting.

Grant chipped in 19 points off the Nuggets’ bench and Morris totaled 14 points and four assists for Denver as well.

The Nuggets’ win puts Denver up 1-0 in the series and gives them momentum heading into Game 2, which is on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 4 PM (EST).