JAMAL MURRAY missed his first eight shots before a scorching fourth quarter in which he scored 21 of his 24 points, leading the Denver Nuggets past the San Antonio Spurs 114-105 and knotting their playoff series 1-1.

The Nuggets were in danger of losing a second straight game at the Pepsi Center after posting the NBA’s best home record (34-7) during the regular season. They trailed 78-59 late in the third quarter before closing the game on a 55-27 run.

“Coach said we are a team that never gives up,” Nuggets center Nikola Jokic said. “That’s true. We never give up. We lost the first game. We were down 19. That’s all excuses. But we never gave up. There is something about this team. We have a heart. We’re never going to let you win so easy.”

It was looking very much like an easy win for San Antonio, which frittered away two 19-point leads.

“We gave up 39 points in the fourth quarter. End of story,” fumed Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who drew a technical foul during the Nuggets’ comeback.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he never considered benching Murray because he didn’t want to crush his confidence. He said he took him aside at halftime and told him to take a deep breath and trust his shots would start falling.

“Never once did I think about pulling him from the lineup,” Malone said.

Good thing, too, because Murray, the scapegoat in Game 1 after missing an open jumper and turning the ball over in the closing seconds, might have salvaged the Nuggets’ season while going 8 for 9 in the fourth quarter.

The series shifts to San Antonio, where the Nuggets haven’t won since 2012, for Game 3 tonight. “We had to have this one,” Denver’s Paul Millsap said. “Going down 0-2 into San Antonio would’ve been a tough situation for us. To pull this one off the way we did, was unbelievable.” (SD-Agencies)