It also came as a number of other candidates for the award saw their numbers taper off during the season's homestretch, including JarrettJack of the Golden State Warriors and ex-Knick Jamal Crawford, now with the Clippers.
JarrettJack added 21 points and nine assists and Andrew Bogut broke out in the first half with 12 points and five rebounds for the sixth-seeded Warriors, who can close out the Nuggets in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Denver.
Rallying around injured David Lee, who cheered on the bench in street clothes, the Warriors got 26 points from surprise starter JarrettJack, a career-high 24 from rookie Harrison Barnes in his debut at power forward and 21 from Klay Thompson.