The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers are going back and forth in one of the most competitive series in this first round, but Game 5 hasn't been quite as close. Thanks to a monster game from Jamal Murray and a great showing from Russell Westbrook, the Nuggets secured the 131-115 win in Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.

Even when the score isn't quite as tight, there is still plenty of bad blood between these two teams after James Harden and Christian Braun got into it during Game 4. During this pivotal Game 5 in Denver, Russell Westbrook and Bogdan Bogdanovic got into it and were both handed technical fouls.

Westbrook was clearly feeling himself on a night where he scored 21 points and has made three 3-pointers. Bogdanovic is also having the best night of his series with 18 points and five assists.

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However, the story of this game has been Murray, who exploded with his best game of the playoffs. He finished with 43 points and seven assists on 17-for-26 shooting to help the Nuggets take control of the series and move within one win of a trip to the second round.

The Clippers trailed for much of the second half after a third-quarter spurt, fueled by Murray and Christian Braun, helped the Nuggets jump out ahead by a wide margin. However, like they did in Game 4, the Clippers started to claw their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to single digits in the fourth.

Murray wasn't having it. He got bucket after bucket down the stretch to help secure the win and send the series back to Los Angeles with the Nuggets on top.

With one or two games left in this series, there are sure to be more scuffles between two teams that have been very chippy and physical with each other throughout the series. Both sides have feisty players who like to get into it, including Westbrook and Bogdanovic, so it would be no surprise to see more run-ins over the next few games.