The right guy was at the line with the game on the line, but it went wrong for the Nuggets.
“Our best free-throw shooter, one of the best free-throw shooters I’ve ever seen,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said of Jamal Murray after his team’s 109-107 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday at Ball Arena.
Denver trailed by three when Jamal Murray drew a three-shot foul with four seconds left. Murray missed the first one and made the next two before Denver was forced to foul Tobias Harris with two seconds left. Harris made both to get the lead back to three only for Javonte Green to foul Murray behind the arc again with 0.7 seconds left. This time, Murray made the first and missed the second. He had to miss the third intentionally to give the Nuggets a chance to tie the game, and Detroit tipped the ball out to the perimeter to run off the remainder of the clock.
“I just got to be better. I had a golden opportunity there twice, once to redeem myself,” Murray said. “It just wasn’t my night. I’ve just got to be better.”
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, passes the ball as Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins and center Jalen Duren defend in the second half of an NBA game Tuesday in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Murray finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 10 assists against two turnovers with five rebounds and a block in 39 minutes of playing time. He made 7 of 18 shots and finished 10 of 15 from the line but wasn’t pleased with the way he played for most of the game. He scored all three of his first-quarter points off free throws and was 1 of 8 from the field with five points at halftime.
In the final four minutes, Murray scored or assisted on 14 consecutive Nuggets points to bring the Nuggets within a point with 41 seconds left.
“I gotta do something. I just did something,” Murray said.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to will the ball in. You’ve got to force yourself to put the ball in the hoop, gotta get in that mode for a second.”
Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Bruce Brown (16), Tim Hardaway Jr. (14), Peyton Watson (13) and Spencer Jones (12) also scored in double figures for Denver.
“Listen, I missed a free throw,” Valanciunas said, taking some of the blame off Murray. “A lot of guys missed a lot of free throws. I missed an easy bunny under the basket. It’s on all of us. When we win, we all win. When we lose, we all lose.”
Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris paced the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons with 22 points apiece. Harris hit a couple of clutch free throws that put Detroit up by three with a couple of seconds left. Murray, a career 87% free-throw shooter who is shooting nearly 90% this season, couldn’t do the same with the game on the line.
“I hope he shoots them again the next game, because he’s a great free-throw shooter. He’s made some of the biggest free throws in the history of this franchise,” Adelman said. “Tonight was one of those nights. We play 82 (games) for a reason. Things happen that don’t usually happen, so it’s just one of those things.”
PISTONS 109, NUGGETS 107
What happened: Denver trailed by as many as 18 in the first half but cut the deficit to 52-46 by halftime. Detroit got the lead back to 10 to start the fourth quarter and dropped Denver to 31-16.
What went right: The Nuggets scored 35 points in the fourth quarter to get back into the game. Jamal Murray had 12 of his 24 points and four of his 10 assists in the final 12 minutes.
What went wrong: Denver finished the first half with more turnovers (10) than assists (nine). The Pistons finished with a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Highlight of the night: Bruce Brown had a couple of impressive three-point plays that kept the Nuggets competitive early in the fourth quarter.
Up next: Denver’s four-game homestand continues Thursday against Michael Porter Jr. and the Nets.