Jamal Murray scored 45 points as the Denver Nuggets held off the struggling Utah Jazz to earn a 128-125 victory on Monday.
Nuggets point guard Murray made 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 buoyed by Nikola Jokic’s 22 points, who also had 12 rebounds, on a night where all of Denver’s starters reached double figures.
The win moved Denver to 38-24 in the Western Conference standings, while Utah fell to 18-43 and remains one spot off the bottom.
Elsewhere on Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a five-week injury absence but could not prevent the Milwaukee Bucks from collapsing to a heavy 108-81 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Antetokounmpo, making his first appearance since suffering a right calf injury in late January, finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort against the overmatched Bucks.
Meanwhile, Boston continued its quest for the Detroit Pistons to lead the Eastern Conference with a powerful overall offensive effort.
All five starters finished in double figures for the Celtics, while Payton Pritchard produced an eye-catching 25-point outing off the bench, including five three-pointers.
The Celtics drained 20 of 50 from beyond the arc, with Derrick White and Sam Hauser hitting four three-pointers each.
Boston improved to 41-20 with the win while the Bucks fell to 26-34. The Celtics are second in the East, five games behind leader Detroit (45-14).
The Bucks’ third straight loss puts them in 11th place in the East, just outside the play-in spots.
In other games Monday, Trae Young pulled off the unusual feat of getting kicked out of Washington’s new club before playing a game for the franchise.
Young has been injured since being traded to the Atlanta Wizards on Jan. 7, but is expected to make his debut later this week.
On Monday, however, he was ejected after walking onto the court during the third quarter of the Wizards’ 123-118 loss to the Houston Rockets to complain after teammate Jamir Watkins was pushed to the hardcourt by Houston’s Tari Eason.
“Don’t expect me to get kicked out of DC too often…but I’ll definitely bring that energy and competitiveness when I’m back for my brothers!” Young wrote on Twitter after the incident.
On the field, Washington was soundly defeated by Houston, who improved to 38-22 and remains in third place in the Western Conference.
Alperen Sengun led Houston’s scoring with 32 points while Kevin Durant finished with 30 points.
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