(Field Level Media) Jamal Murray totaled 31 points and eight assists, and the visiting Denver Nuggets needed overtime to extend their winning streak to seven games with a hard-fought, 124-118 victory over the Orlando Magic last night.
Nikola Jokic added 12 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for Denver, and Paul Millsap scored 18 points.
Evan Fournier had 26 points for Orlando but fouled out with two minutes left in overtime. Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Gordon scored 19, and Terrence Ross finished with 17 as the Magic lost for the third time in five games.
There were 21 lead changes in the game that was tightly contested throughout, and neither team led by more than six points in the third and fourth quarters.
The Magic trailed by three points with just nine seconds remaining in regulation when they inbounded the ball to Ross, who was left wide open at the 3-point arc. Ross drilled the 3-pointer from the wing to send the game into overtime.
Denver then scored nine of the first 11 points of overtime and held on. The winning streak is the Nuggets’ longest since December 2013.
Denver came into the game with the NBA’s No. 1 defense against the 3-point shot, but the Magic were hot from deep. Orlando made 20 of 49 3-point attempts, but the Nuggets held a 23-8 advantage on made free throws.
The Magic didn’t attempt a free throw until there was 9:13 left in the fourth quarter and attempted only eight in the game.
Denver jumped out to a 12-point lead early in the first quarter, but Gordon scored 13 straight points to bring the Magic back. The Nuggets went into halftime with a 56-54 lead behind Murray’s 15 points.
Denver played without starting shooting guard Gary Harris, who sustained a hip injury in the Nuggets’ win against Toronto on Monday night. Harris, who is averaging 16.6 points per game, is listed as day-to-day and is not expected to miss a substantial amo
