Jamal Murray downplayed illness that had him questionable for Game 6

Nuggets fans were struck with concern just hours before tip-off of the biggest game of the season on Thursday, as Jamal Murray was marked as questionable with an illness. As seen in 2021 and 2022, this team can’t win a championship without the Blue Arrow on the floor, and this illness almost took him out for the biggest game of the year.

To the relief of many, he ended up playing, and had a great performance as he put up 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists en route to a 119-107 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the win, he emphasized that his mentality wasn’t going to let the illness affect him.

“Everything was kind of bothering me, but once the game starts and team needs you and adrenaline kicks in, you see a couple shots go in or whatever, you just kind of suck it up and and get through it,” Murray said.

There were plenty of times when the ESPN broadcast cut to Murray on the bench, and he didn’t look like he was having the greatest time out there as the exhaustion of playing playoff basketball while ill added up on the 28-year-old throughout the night.

Jamal Murray left it ALL ON THE COURT after battling illness before an elimination game 🤒

🔥 25 PTS | 8 REB | 7 AST

He led the team with 42 minutes 👏 pic.twitter.com/Nx9KsGYGzW

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) May 16, 2025

Despite the looks he put out there for the world to see, there was never a doubt in his mind that he was playing in Game 6.

“No,” Murray said when asked if he thought he was questionable heading into the game, despite the injury report. “I woke up, was feeling it, went to the clinic, got tested for a couple different things. It was negative, so, happy about that, but I was always going to play in my mind.”

This wasn’t the first time that Murray popped up as questionable late in a playoff series. Back in 2023, Murray had an illness before Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Phoenix Suns. He finished with 26 points as the Nuggets blew out the Suns to advance to the Conference Finals, with the injury showing no signs of limiting him.

Is “Flu Game Murray” a thing? The small sample size has shown that he’s able to step up in the playoffs when battling an illness to help his team. While the Nuggets have finally caught a break with the rest, and get two days in between games instead of one, it’s unlikely that Murray will be 100% healthy when Game 7 tips off on Sunday afternoon. With his illness, Aaron Gordon’s hamstring and Michael Porter Jr.’s shoulder sprain, the Nuggets need every second of rest they can get.

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