Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell (45) goes up for a shot as Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray (27) defends during the second half of an NBA first-round playoff game Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Ashley Landis, Associated Press
Note: This story is part of the Deseret News sports team’s Flashback Friday series, which revisits memorable moments involving Utah teams.
Two years ago this week, during a delayed — and socially distanced — NBA Playoffs at Walt Disney World, Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray made history together.
The two guards each scored at least 50 points in the fourth game of their first-round series, which the Utah Jazz won 129-127. It was the first time in NBA Playoffs history that a pair of opposing players crossed the 50-point scoring threshold, according to NBA.com.
“Murray’s 50-point performance (marked) a new Nuggets franchise record for points in a postseason game,” NBA.com reported. “Mitchell … became just the third player in NBA history to score 50 more than once in the same series.”
Here’s how the Deseret News summarized the epic matchup:
“Mitchell led the Jazz with a game-high 51 points and added seven assists to boot. … On the Denver side, Jamal Murray had the best game of his young postseason career, scoring a team-high 50 points and connecting on nine 3-pointers.”
The game four win gave the Jazz a commanding 3-1 lead over the Nuggets in the series, but Denver emerged victorious in the end.
“We were this close,” Mitchell said after the Jazz lost 80-78 in game seven, according to the Deseret News.
The article noted that Murray comforted Mitchell after the game.
“Murray rushed to Mitchell’s side, urged him to stand up and the two embraced,” the Deseret News reported.
After beating the Jazz, the Nuggets won another close series against the Los Angeles Clippers
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