Murray, Jokic lead Nuggets past Magic, 91-87

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 22 points, Nikola Jokic had 20 points and seven rebounds and both made big late plays to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 91-87 on Saturday night.

Jokic hit a shot from the corner with 1:53 left to put Denver up 84-81. Murray made a jumper with 1:24 left, drove for a dunk and an 88-83 lead with 35 seconds remaining, and wrapped up the victory with two free throws with 5.1 seconds left.

The Nuggets shot only 37%, but pulled ahead in the third quarter when the Magic made only seven of 25 shots.

Nikola Vuevic scored 24 points for Orlando, and Aaron Gordon added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Vucevic made his first five shots and helped Orlando to a 12-point lead, the largest of the game for either team.

Two free throws by Torrey Craig with 4:01 left in the third quarter gave the Nuggets their first lead, 61-60. A 3-pointer by Malik Beasley stretched Denver’s lead to eight early in the fourth quarter.

Vucevic’s 3-pointer tied it at 81 with 3:57 left, but Murray and Jokic scored nine of Denver’s 10 points after that.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: F Will Barton missed a second game with an inflamed left toe. … Coach Michael Malone burned two timeouts within 41 seconds during a first-quarter Magic run. … F Michael Porter Jr., who played 21 minutes in his NBA debut Thursday night, had three points and four rebounds in seven minutes. … Denver failed to score 100 points for the first time this season. Orlando has yet to score 100.

Magic: C Mo Bamba fouled out late in the third quarter, having produced one point and six rebounds in 10 minutes. … G Michael Carter-Williams missed a second straight game with a left hip contusion.

FULTZ GETS FIRST MAGIC START

Markelle Fultz started for the first time for Orlando, replacing D.J. Augustin at point guard. The first overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2017 NBA Draft, Fultz was traded to the Magic in February but did not play last season for the Magic. Augustin had started 115 straight games for the Magic going back to Feb. 8, 2018.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Host Miami on Tuesday night.

Magic: At Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.