WASHINGTON—Coming off his first All-Star appearance, Dejounte Murray had to work extra hard in the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season.
Murray had 31 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Washington Wizards 157–153 in double overtime Friday night.
The game might not have gone on so long if Murray hadn’t missed potential winners at the end of regulation and the first overtime. He matched his season high in minutes with 43.
“He looked like he got a little tired. Might have been too much All-Star break that he didn’t get,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I put him in a one-on-one situation a few times and maybe I shouldn’t have done that, judging that he was a bit tired, but he’s our guy. He made a big 3, a couple free throws, so, I think Michael (Jordan) missed some shots at the end of games, too.”
Keldon Johnson scored a career-high 32 points, and Jakob Poeltl added a career-high 28 points for the Spurs. They have won five of seven to get Popovich within one victory of Lenny Wilkens’ NBA record of 1,335.
Kyle Kuzma matched his season high with 36 points for the Wizards. They finally ran out of gas in the second extra period of this entertaining matchup between teams on the fringes of playoff contention.
“I think, overall, can’t be mad,” Kuzma said. “Played three overtimes. Was it three overtimes? Two? Oh. Felt like three.”
