NBA Notes: Nuggets, Jamal Murray, Rockets, Reed Sheppard, Pacers

Nuggets

Jamal Murray caught fire early and never cooled off.

Murray knocked down 10 3-pointers and finished with 37 points as the Nuggets beat the Jazz, 130-117. He hit a half-court heave at the end of the first quarter and had five triples in that opening stretch.

Denver opened with 12 straight points. Its first six field goals all came from deep.

Nikola Jokic added another triple-double with 15 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. It’s his fifth in six games.

Cameron Johnson had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Christian Braun scored 18.

Denver has won seven straight.

Rockets

Reed Sheppard had a night.

More specifically, he scored 27 points and hit a career-high nine 3-pointers as the Rockets beat the Bucks, 119-113.

Alperen Sengun added 25 points. Kevin Durant finished with 19 points and nine assists, while Amen Thompson posted 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Houston moved the ball, finishing with 30 assists on 41 field goals. It also forced 15 turnovers and turned those into 18 points. That’s four straight wins.

Pacers

Pascal Siakam led the way as the Pacers beat the Bulls, 145-126.

Siakam scored 25. Ethan Thompson added 24, while Kobe Brown and Jay Huff each had 17.

Indiana set a season high in points and moved to 18-58, climbing out of last place in the East.