Jamal Murray’s breakout game changes calculus for Nuggets: ‘He was born for this’

Sports

add

DENVER — The beauty of Jamal Murray has always been his ability to stay even-keeled and confident. And perhaps we should have all seen those traits coming.

He was pushed relentlessly as a kid when he was coached by his father, Roger. Murray used to practice game-winning shots in his driveway. And he has been put in pressure situations at each level of basketball and has consistently delivered.

Murray’s ascension into an elite playoff riser for the Denver Nuggets is borne from making big shots and plays for as long as he can remember. Murray has never been scared. He has always had a short memory, never allowed failure to deter him and has always been able to move on to the next play or game.

In this first-round series against the LA Clippers, he’s had his issues, particularly against the overbearing defense of LA Clippers guard Kris Dunn. But Murray has consistently had the hero cape ready when his team has needed it. His coaches and teammates knew he was due for a big game in what has been a razor-close first four games.

So we shouldn’t be surprised at his 43-point explosion in Denver’s 131-115 Game 5 win at Ball Arena on Tuesday, which gave the Nuggets a 3-2 series lead. Murray has been average and good in this series, but he hasn’t had a game in which he took over with his shotmaking and offensive prowess.

Until Tuesday night.

“Some of the shots he made tonight were absolutely ridiculous,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said. “He’s a special player, and tonight he showed up like the special player he has always been. I thought we did some things to get him loose. The guys screened better, and that gave him some space to work. We got him moving in space and got him on the move. He was born for this.”

Murray’s ability to focus on what’s ahead explains how he’s able to flip a switch so suddenly, and why he’s always dangerous, even when he’s not shooting or playing well. He shot 5 of 17 from the field in Saturday’s Game 4 win. He went 7 of 20 in a Game 1 win. The Clippers made him work hard for looks.

On Tuesday, Murray enjoyed more space on the floor than at any point in this series. LA had done a terrific job of making him encounter resistance in the paint and at the basket and consistently making him shoot with a hand in his face. The Clippers slacked on those points in Game 5, and Murray made them pay.

Murray went 17 of 26 from the field and hit eight 3-pointers, tying Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards for the highest scoring game of this postseason and notching his sixth career 40-point game in the playoffs.

But the game within the game is where LA truly failed. Early in the game, Murray drove for an uncontested dunk and often weaved through traffic with ease. The Clippers had done a great job of keeping him out of transition earlier in the series, but Murray got loose several times for easy baskets.

Showing off the range pic.twitter.com/x16ZX1kP9D

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 30, 2025

For the first time in the series, Murray was better than Dunn, who is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. The two had gone back and forth for most of the series. But in Game 5, Murray owned him with his shot-making ability, crafty ballhandling and pick-and-roll play.

“You have so many possessions against him, sometimes I just have to pick my spots,” Murray said about Dunn’s defense. “There are times I have to roll with the punches, and there are times I have to make him react to me. You have to do whatever is needed to keep him off balance. I know that I have to give him different looks and give him different things to think about.

“We’re from the same draft class, and he was picked before me, so I do think about that. It’s fun going to battle with him. He challenges me, and I challenge him. That’s what the playoffs are for.”

Murray showed that he can still touch the heights he reached in Denver’s 2023 championship run. But the more important thing is that he gave Nikola Jokić a relatively easy offensive night.

In the first four games, Jokić was the facilitator and Denver’s offense. There aren’t many games in which the Nuggets can win comfortably with Jokić scoring 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field, as they did in Game 5.

The Basketball 100

The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.

The story of the greatest players in NBA history.

Buy

The postseason is about balance, and Murray, for one night, added some balance to the responsibility that Jokić must carry. And they both received a significant amount of help.

Aaron Gordon, Saturday’s Game 4 hero, scored 23 points and consistently punished the Clippers on the interior for putting smaller defenders on him. Russell Westbrook was magnificent off the bench, scoring 21 points, with 16 of those coming in the first half. He made shots from the perimeter, put pressure on LA’s defense off the dribble and provided the first true bench production for the Nuggets since Game 1.

“I thought we played with great spacing tonight and thought we played with better pace,” Westbrook said. “I thought we set the tone in this game with our defense and our space. I thought we did a good job of staying focused and running our stuff.

“Jamal led us. When he’s aggressive like he was tonight, we’re a different team. And when he plays at this level, and with the swagger that he did tonight, we’re a tough team to beat.”

Less than a week ago, the Nuggets looked like they were in a bad spot. The Clippers beat them 117-83 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. But that’s flipped. The common thread is that Denver built 22-point fourth-quarter leads in the last two games. In Game 4, the Nuggets allowed the Clippers to rally and almost steal the game. In Game 5, the Nuggets shut the door.

In the first three games of the series, LA truly bothered Denver with its pressure defense and schematic doubling of Jokić in the post and on the perimeter. But the Nuggets have adjusted. Game 5 was Denver’s best offensive game of the series by far. The Nuggets shot 55 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range. As Westbrook said, Denver’s spacing has gotten better as the series has progressed.

The in-game adjustments from Adelman and his staff have worked, such as moving Jokić from the middle of the floor, where the Clippers can double-team him from the blind side, to either side of the floor where he can see the doubles coming. Recognizing that LA has been trying to hide James Harden and Norman Powell — two inferior defenders — on Gordon and exploiting those matchups has also been big.

Adelman has been quick to caution that the series, which moves to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Thursday, is far from over. But the Nuggets have gotten stronger as the series has progressed.

“We know that we just have to win, man,” Murray said. “I think we did a great job of covering for each other and sticking with each other tonight. We had to play hard and play well and figure things out for ourselves. We had guys setting great screens and running the floor. It’s a big reason we were able to get the win tonight.”

(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

NHL playoffs daily: Hurricanes eliminate Devils; Senators shut out Maple Leafs

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Red Sox P Lucas Giolito looks to put pieces together vs. Jays in debut

Sports