Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets locker room:<\/p>\n
NBA Insider<\/p>\n
OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 It looked in Game 1 like Jamal Murray was going to add to his resume as one of the NBA’s elite playoff performers.<\/p>\n
In the first quarter of Denver\u2019s 121-119 comeback win over the top-seeded Thunder, Murray didn\u2019t have much trouble despite being guarded by fellow Canadian Luguentz Dort, who\u2019s regarded as one of the game\u2019s tougher perimeter defenders. He scored 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter, making 4 of 7 shots from the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just fun,\u201d Murray said Tuesday at Paycom Center of the matchup. \u201cIt\u2019s always competitive. That\u2019s the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five of the nine points he scored the rest of the way came via free throws. He had 14 points at halftime and missed all four of his field goal attempts in the third quarter before contributing four points \u2014 a tough mid-range pull-up jumper over Alex Caruso and a pair of free throws \u2014 during Denver\u2019s fourth-quarter comeback. He heard about the drop off in production from Shaquille O\u2019Neal during a postgame interview on TNT.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know and I know they\u2019re going to need you to play at a super-high level if you want to win another championship,\u201d O\u2019Neal said, prefacing a question about Murray finishing 6 of 16 from the field.<\/p>\n
Murray is aware of his importance to Denver\u2019s chances to upset the Thunder \u2014 let alone win two more series.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Shoot), I want me to do it as well,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI don\u2019t need Shaq to say it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver\u2019s point guard is so vital to Denver\u2019s chances that interim coach David Adelman has made a point of getting the ball out of Murray\u2019s hands to start possessions at times. Improved ball-handling and playmaking from the likes of Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun have made it easier for Murray to operate off the ball, which saves him some energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been the lead ballhandler, because he\u2019s been the only one outside of Nikola (Jokic) a little bit. Being able to have him run down the court, not have to bring the ball up against Lu Dort and then also facilitate and then also get into an ATO (after timeout) where it\u2019s for him \u2026 that\u2019s asking too much of any player in the NBA,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have multiple players who can do that, it just saves your best players, and it saves them for the fourth quarter where they have a little bit of their legs left. You can\u2019t ask them to do everything at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray had to do that in the past and proved he was up to the tall task. He made a name for himself as a playoff performer by averaging 26.5 points, 6.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game in Denver\u2019s run to the conference finals in 2020. After missing the next two postseasons due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Murray was back to his old ways, averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in the Nuggets\u2019 2023 championship run.<\/p>\n
A calf strain complicated last season\u2019s run, but Murray still hit two memorable game-winners in a five-game series against the Lakers and showed up for Denver\u2019s Game 7 loss to the Timberwolves with 35 points.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old\u2019s best game this postseason was a 43-point, seven-assist, five-rebound performance in a pivotal Game 5 win over the Clippers at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n
It looked like Murray was on pace for another monster performance Monday in Oklahoma City. That didn\u2019t pan out, but he did enough other stuff with six rebounds and six assists to help the Nuggets earn their fifth win of the postseason \u2014 as 9.5-point underdogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we win and you contribute to winning,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI didn\u2019t play amazing, but I played solid enough to do my job and get the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m Thinking<\/p>\n
Aaron Gordon\u2019s confident, game-winning 3 wasn\u2019t the only new wrinkle the Nuggets displayed in the final seconds of Game 1.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m trying to think back, we\u2019ve never really had breakdown, drive-and-kick kind of guards,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cWe never have. We\u2019ve had very organized skillset basketball players. That\u2019s their strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enter Russell Westbrook.<\/p>\n
After Chet Holmgren left the door wide open for Denver by missing both of his free throws in a one-point game with 10 seconds left, Christian Braun grabbed the defensive rebound and passed ahead to Westbrook on the right wing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a big-time player,\u201d Murray said. \u201cLate in the clock, late in the game, high-pressure situations, he\u2019s always ready to go for whatever it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jalen Williams was positioned between Westbrook and the basket, but Chet Holmgren had enough respect for the veteran guard\u2019s burst that he retreated into the paint to offer help instead of sticking to Gordon, who enjoyed a career-best 3-point percentage this season.<\/p>\n
It was a wrap after that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw Chet in the paint. My job is to drive and kick,\u201d Westbrook said. \u201cAG was ready to shoot it. He\u2019s been making big shots all year long. I knew it was good when it left his hands, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Nikola Jokic has MVP vibes in Denver Nuggets’ Game 1 win over Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a><\/p>\n What They\u2019re Saying<\/p>\n In what was one of the cuter moments of the postseason, Gordon brought his nephews to the podium after his game-winning shot Monday in Oklahoma City. One of the boys was asked about their reaction to their uncle\u2019s big shot.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cheered, like, a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Gordon was then asked what advice he would have for those boys as they grew up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gets greater later,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cStick with it, be a demonstration of resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n