Murray rips Jazz with 45

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Jamal Murray scored 45 points as the Denver Nuggets held off the struggling Utah Jazz to snatch a 128-125 victory on Monday.

Nuggets point guard Murray drained eight three-pointers and shot 13-of-19 from the field in a back-and-forth duel that saw the lead change hands no fewer than 22 times.

Murray’s virtuoso performance was backed by 22 points from Nikola Jokic, who also pulled down 12 rebounds, on a night when all of Denver’s starters reached double figures.

The win lifted Denver to 38-24 in the Western Conference standings, while Utah fell to 18-43 and remain one place off the bottom.

Elsewhere Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a five-week injury absence but could not prevent the Milwaukee Bucks slumping to a hefty 108-81 defeat to the Boston Celtics.

Antetokounmpo, making his first appearance since suffering a right calf strain in late January, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort against the outclassed Bucks.

Boston, meanwhile, kept up their pursuit of the Detroit Pistons at the top of the Eastern Conference with a potent all-round offensive effort.