LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Jamal Murray scored a career-high 55 points and Nikola Jokic added a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets pushed their National Basketball Association (NBA) winning streak to eight games with a 132-121 victory over Portland on Wednesday.
Murray made sure the Nuggets head into the All-Star break that starts on Friday on a roll, scoring 30 points in the first half as Denver seized a 75-56 lead over the Trail Blazers.
He surpassed his previous career high of 50 points, connecting on 20 of 36 attempts including seven of 15 from three-point range.
Murray scored the third-most points in Nuggets history — a list led by David Thompson’s 73-point game in 1978 and Jokic’s 56 points in a 7 December loss to Washington.
“Excited to play basketball,” said Murray, who added four rebounds, five assists and two steals for good measure.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic provided plenty of support with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his 25th triple-double of the season.
With the Nuggets missing four key players, Murray said the All-Star break, far from a potential momentum-killer, would be a welcome chance to “rejuvenate and get prepared for what’s coming next.”
In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to propel the reigning champion Celtics to a 116-103 victory over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
With Jaylen Brown sitting out with a sore right knee, the Celtics didn’t miss a beat, pushing their lead to as many as 24 on the way to a 66-47 halftime advantage.
The Spurs made inroads after the break and had the deficit down to eight points early in the fourth quarter before the Celtics pulled away again.
Kristaps Porzingis delivered 29 points and Derrick White added 19 for the Celtics, whose 18 three-pointers helped make up for 17 turnovers leading to 22 Spurs points.
“We know these kind of games heading into the All-Star break are tough,” Porzingis said. “But we’ve got to protect home court.”
De’Aaron Fox, acquired by the Spurs at the trade deadline, led San Antonio with 23 points. Wembanyma added 17 points and 13 rebounds with two blocked shots.
With his 85th straight game with at least one block, Wembanyama passed Hakeem Olajuwon for the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Celtics remained 5.5 games behind Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland, who cruised past the Raptors 131-108 in Toronto.
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points to lead seven Cavs players to score in double figures.
Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City rallied from a 21-point deficit for a 115-101 home win over the Miami Heat.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder scored 24 straight points to open the period as a Heat team with three players sidelined by a stomach illness faded.
In New York, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 44 points and Jalen Brunson’s 36 points included the go-ahead basket with 11.3 seconds left in overtime as the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 149-148.
The Indiana Pacers needed overtime to get past the league-worst Washington Wizards, 134-130.
Obi Toppin scored 31 points off the bench to help the Pacers withstand a 42-point performance from Washington’s Jordan Poole.
The Los Angeles Lakers limp into the All-Star break with a lackluster 131-119 loss at the Utah Jazz that halted their six-game winning streak.
Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points to lead the Jazz, who snapped a three-game skid.
Rui Hachimura led the Lakers with 19 points. LeBron James added 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Luka Doncic scored 16 in his second game with the Lakers since his trade from Dallas shocked the league.