Murray buzzer-beater saves Nuggets, Jokic delivers first win in OT

Sometimes it takes a little while to settle in when you haven’t been home in a long time and maybe that was the case for Canada’s own Jamal Murray. The Denver Nuggets guard capped an incredible comeback on Monday against the Toronto Raptors by sending the contest to overtime and then helping his team hit the road again with a 127-125 win.

The victory saved a lot of panic in the Mile High City after two-straight home losses began the Nuggets campaign. The third loss in a row was looking inevitable until the malaise wore off and the real Denver Nuggets stood up.

Denver was down 15 points multiple times in the second half and things were pretty much over with two minutes and change left. The Raptors were riding a 111-101 lead, but apparently, it took 142 minutes of basketball this season for things to finally click for Denver. The Nuggets went on a 23-5 run to surge for a tie and it was just enough to survive the final moments of overtime.

Jokic tallied 13 points down the stretch to finish with 40 for the second contest in a row, while Murray chipped in seven in the crunch—including a wild two-man game from the two which ended with the Blue Arrow going up and around the up for a marvelous finish to tie it at 112 just before the buzzer.

JAMAL MURRAY TIES IT AT 112 🔥🔥

WHAT A MOVE TO SEND THE GAME OT!! pic.twitter.com/l7ADF49uiv

— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2024

“This felt like a playoff game three games into the season but that’s what happens when you start 0-2,” Michael Malone said in his news conference. “Great to get a win after the first two at home. The thing I’m most proud of is the way we finished regulation to finish 13-2 to force overtime. We showed our guys don’t quit and keep fighting.”

That fight was seen close up in Murray, who went 6-of-20 from the field but hit the game’s biggest shot and still found a way to score 17 points with nine rebounds and seven assists.

“He made all the tough shots, he hits the big shots, it’s who he is. he wants the big moments and he always answers the call,” Jokic said after the game on local TV,

Murray’s, success in part, came because he got to the line five times where he connected on each of his shots. Denver hit 24 of their 30 free throws in the game. The Nuggets only shot 30 or more free throws seven times last season, it all ended with the second-fewest trips to the line in the league. And the game against the Raptors was a prime example of the Nuggets needing to get points easier.

That’s because nothing was easy for Denver even against a lesser team in the Raptors. It was the third game in a row Denver has been outscored in the paint, where they normally butter their bread, and now they’re negative 34 in scoring from the key. Michael Porter Jr. spent large chunks of the game struggling, going a team-worst -10. Dario Saric was played off the floor and replaced by Aaron Gordon in the second half, who played backup big minutes in addition to his starting power forward duties. Russell Westbrook is still clearly trying to get adjusted but he hit a big layup and helped on a late-game stop.

It’s a work in progress for the Nuggets, which was expected—what wasn’t is the slow start in the standings. Battling through the issues on Monday and still coming away with a win was a pretty big deal for the team.

“It was an opportunity to show that if we don’t play well we can still win games and that’s what good teams do and this can showcase what we can do,” Jokic said. “Just to win any game, of course, losing two games at home was tough, hopefully, we can win two more games on the road.”

Denver has the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow, facing Brooklyn. Then the Nuggets have a few days before a playoff rematch with the Wolves on Friday which is also part of a back-to-back with the Jazz visiting Colorado on Saturday. We’ll see if Malone goes deeper into the Nuggets roster this week and how those players may look, especially after the team had to play heavy minutes in this overtime contest.