Jamal Murray catches fire as Nuggets square up series with Spurs

Jamal Murray just couldn't get the bad taste out of his mouth, and even a bite of pretzel he poached from a kid after tumbling into the stands in the third quarter wasn't exactly satisfying.

"It was really dry," Murray said.

Maybe it was just what Murray needed, however, helping spark his fabulous fourth quarter that fueled the Denver Nuggets' 114-105 comeback over the San Antonio Spurs and knotting their playoff series 1-1.

Murray's late heroics may very well have salvaged Denver's season.

Teammates told him to keep shooting the ball when his shots kept rimming out. Finally, he found his touch, scoring 21 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

"Everybody told me to stick with it," Murray said. "I don't think I scored a field goal until the fourth. I just stuck with it. They all believed in me."

The Nuggets were in danger of losing a second straight game at the Pepsi Center after posting the NBA's best home record (34-7) during the regular season. They trailed 78-59 late in the third quarter before closing the game on a 55-27 run.

"Coach said we are a team that never gives up," Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic said. "That's true. We never give up. We lost the first game. We were down 19. That's all excuses. But we never gave up. There is something about this team. We have a heart. We're never going to let you win so easy."

It was looking very much like an easy win for San Antonio, which frittered away two 19-point leads.

"We gave up 38 points [actually, 39] in the fourth quarter. End of story," fumed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who drew a technical foul during the Nuggets' comeback.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he never considered benching Murray because he didn't want to crush his confidence. He said he took him aside at halftime and told him to take a deep breath and trust his shots would start falling.

"Never once did I think about pulling him from the lineup," Malone said.

Good thing, too, because Murray, the goat in Game 1 after missing an open jumper and turning the ball over in the closing seconds, might have salvaged the Nuggets' season while going 8 for 9 in the fourth quarter.

The series shifts to San Antonio, where the Nuggets haven't won since 2012, for Game 3 on Thursday night.

Malone said he was bursting with pride over Murray's phenomenal bounce-back.

"He was so frustrated at halftime, not making shots, shots that he's made his whole career," Malone recounted. "I just grabbed him. I said, 'Listen, take a deep breath. You're putting too much pressure on yourself. Every shot right now was like the end of the world. I believe in you. I love you. Just go out there and play."'

"It was great to see him have some success. After Game 1. And after the first half. Really happy for Jamal and for him to step up and basically close the game out with his shot-making that he had down the stretch. The first of many for Jamal Murray, I have no doubt."

Lillard stars again as Blazers down Thunder

CJ McCollum had 33 points, Damian Lillard added 29 and the Portland Trail Blazers took a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a 114-94 victory on Tuesday night.

Maurice Harkless added 14 points and nine rebounds for the third-seeded Blazers, who opened a playoff series with two wins for the first time since the 2014 playoffs, when they beat Houston in six games.

The series shifts to Oklahoma City for Game 3 on Friday.

"Now we've got to go on the road and get gritty," McCollum said.

Russell Westbrook, who had his ninth career post-season triple-double in Oklahoma City's Game 1 loss, finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. He was pulled with 3:31 with most of his fellow starters after Portland built a 112-91 lead.

Paul George had 27 points despite lingering questions about his right shoulder, which was covered with kinesiology tape. George insisted the shoulder, which kept him out of the Thunders' regular-season finale, was fine at practice on Monday even though it was wrapped in ice.

Portland's victory in Game 1 snapped a 10-game post-season losing streak that included four-game sweeps in the past two seasons — first by the Warriors and then last year by the Pelicans. Lillard had 30 points in the 104-99 win on Sunday.

Oklahoma City beat the Blazers in all four meetings during the regular season. The Thunder have been to the playoffs for eight of the last nine seasons, but they haven't gotten past the opening round for the past two.