Jamal Murray’s Stellar Performance: A Breath of Fresh Air for the Nuggets
In the heart of Dallas, the basketball court was set ablaze by none other than Jamal Murray. The Denver Nuggets guard delivered his best offensive performance of the season, scoring a season-high 45 points. This electrifying display led the Nuggets to a commanding 118-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Coach Michael Malone was quick to defend his star player, who had faced criticism for his early-season struggles.
“I think the microscope on Jamal is a little intense,” Malone remarked, emphasizing the need for patience and understanding. “Everybody’s just got to kind of let the kid breathe a little bit. He’s not perfect. And if you look, I think his overall stats as of recently, he’s been very good for us.”
From the opening tip, Murray was in a league of his own, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first quarter. His performance was so compelling that he convinced Malone to let him play the entire quarter, a deviation from the Nuggets’ typical rotation.
“Don’t take me out,” Murray insisted to Malone after sinking a couple of 3-pointers. Malone obliged, and Murray rewarded the decision by finishing the first half with 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting, just two points shy of his previous season high.
“You’re just in the zone and it’s fun,” Murray reflected. “Your team knows you’re in the zone. They’re trying to find you as well. The ball has energy and it was finding me today and I was just rolling, so I wasn’t looking into it too much. I was just flowing with the game and playing free.”
For Murray, playing with a “free-minded” approach was key. “If I miss a shot or turn it over, it was on to the next play. And it’s nice to play just kind of free-minded, you know what I’m saying? Sometimes you can have so many negatives in the game where it just compounds from one player to another. And today it was just the opposite.”
Malone, however, was keen to address the negativity surrounding Murray this season. The Nuggets had signed Murray to a four-year, $208 million maximum contract extension during the offseason, a testament to their faith in him despite his struggles in the previous playoffs and the Olympics.
- Murray’s current season averages: 19.8 points on 44.7% shooting.
- Lowest scoring average since 2019-20.
- Lowest field goal percentage since 2018-19.
“I think Jamal has been catching a lot of heat this year,” Malone said. “Jamal Murray didn’t pay himself $[52] million [per season]. We did that as an organization, because we believe in him.”
Malone reminded everyone of Murray’s crucial role in the Nuggets’ first franchise championship, where he averaged 21 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds. “We don’t win our first franchise championship without Jamal Murray averaging 21, 10 and 6. You know what I mean? So I understand that everybody wants our guys to play perfect. Everybody wants us to be undefeated. Doesn’t happen like that. Every player goes through ups and downs. The most important thing for Jamal is to know that everybody in that locker room — coaches, players — has his back and we’re going to ride with him.”
Murray, who had averaged 17.8 points on 42% shooting while the Nuggets stumbled to an 11-10 start, acknowledged the criticism. “It comes with the responsibilities,” he said. “I’m totally ready for it. That’s why I literally signed up for it. … I admit I haven’t been playing well, so it’s not like it’s a surprise to me to hear from everybody else if I’m saying it as well.”
Malone was adamant that Murray’s fifth career 40-point game was not an anomaly but part of a positive trend. He highlighted Murray’s performance during Denver’s recent run of 13 wins in 18 games, where Murray averaged 21.9 points on 47.3% shooting from the field and 43.3% from 3-point range.
“I’ve had his back and I’ll always have his back,” Malone said. “It was just so rewarding to see him have the night that he had tonight and how excited his teammates were for him to go out there and score 45 in a very efficient manner.”
Malone concluded, “It wasn’t just a great game tonight. Jamal Murray has played really good basketball for us in the last 18 games. It’s not a small sample size, and we just got to keep him heading in the right direction.”
Originally Written by: Tim MacMahon
