Before the Lakers’ coronation, it’s the duel between Donovan Mitchell And Jamal Murray who had animated the debates in the famous “bubble”, imagined and installed to end a 2019/2020 season cut in its tracks by the pandemic.
The first round between Denver and Utah will offer a historic clash between the two players, with memorable hot shots.
In Game 4, on August 23, 2020, Donovan Mitchell continued his momentum (57 points in Game 1) by starting the match very strong, with 9 of the first 16 points for the Jazz, against a domination by the Nuggets. Jamal Murray responds quickly and drives the point home in the third quarter.
Nevertheless, the Utah team is carried by its address at 3-pts and it takes off in the second part of the match. There are even more than ten points difference, before the Denver playmaker chained 7 points in a row, to prevent Michael Malone’s men from giving up.
Never have two opponents scored so much in a series of playoffs
In the “money time”, it is obviously the two men who take control of the game. Jamal Murray puts on two award-winning baskets in a row? Donovan Mitchell is not far and sticks 11 points in a row.
The latter will finish the game with 51 points at 15/27 to shoot, when Jamal Murray will display 50 units at 18/31 to shoot and 9/15 at 3-pts! It’s a legendary duel since never in the history of the NBA, in a playoff game, have two opponents passed the 50-point mark.
Finally, Utah wins in this fourth round (129-127) and thus breaks the series (3-1). Except that we know that the Nuggets will return to the series and win after Game 7.
As for Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray, they will end this first round with 475 points scored between them (254 for the first, 221 for the second), the highest total ever recorded by two opponents in a series of playoffs.
“It was an incredible duel. He carries his team to every game, victory or defeat,” said Jamal Murray, paying tribute to Donovan Mitchell. “He fights and you have to respect that. We talk to each other off the pitch too. We are both at adidas, we see each other often. I respect him a lot. It was a great battle and it won’t be the last: we hope to fight each other for a long time. He raises my level of play, I raise his. We get the hang of it and it’s fun. We get the best out of each other. »
