Playoff Jamal Murray returns with historic flurry for Nuggets

DENVER — When all is said and done, Denver Nuggets fans will remember nights like Tuesday when talking about Jamal Murray.

The high-flying finishes, the bouncy dribbles, the memable reactions, the flashy passes and the courageous shotmaking — oh, those makes.

Murray set the NBA record for the most points in a playoff game while only shooting one free throw — 43. It was a masterclass in finding the twine, doing so 17 times on 26 attempts — eight times on his 14 tries from 3-point range.

It was Murray, from the field, with the basketball, that killed the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5. It puts L.A.’s season on the brink as the Nuggets’ 131-115 win gives them a 3-2 lead headed back to Southern California.

“We got Jamal some good looks, on top of the fact that some of the shots he made were absolutely ridiculous,” Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman said. “It’s coming with him, you know it is — these big moments, these situations — he was born for this. Special night for Jamal, but more importantly, a special night for us.”

It’s not just about cooking a 40-burger but how you get there.

Murray opened his account with an explosion past rugged defender Kris Dunn and met James Harden at the rim for a poster.

While not everyone at Ball Arena knows it, Dunn was taken two picks before Murray in the 2016 NBA Draft. Murray knows that well, it’s part of what stoked his flames. Murray used split action to shake Harden, found space, and buried a jumper over Dunn — a sequence that confirmed what was coming. The Blue Arrow quickly played the defensive-minded Dunn off the floor within four minutes. His defense wasn’t working, so Ty Lue opted for something else.

Here comes the respected oversized veteran forward Nic Batum, and moments later, there goes the Frenchman’s ankles as Murray crossed and took him to the hoop. A few moments later, Murray got the old man running, and he had to cheat under a screen to catch the Nuggets guard. Mistake. Murray. Bang. And that was a quick 10 for the Nuggets star in the first quarter that was key in the Nuggets’ wire-to-wire win.

Murray didn’t just start hot, he demoralized a team that had Denver cornered.

“It sure is nice to have these nights where it’s his show,” Adelman said. “We needed it tonight in a big game. It was fun to watch him. I’m sure for the fans that it was incredible.”

Fun for the fans? That’s fun for Murray. It was his sixth 40-point playoff game, but this was the most points he’s scored in the postseason in front of a crowd — something he didn’t get during the 2020 bubble. Not even the known playoff riser Murray, who everyone fears this time of year, has been this hot for a whole evening. The fans went wild for it, and Murray was fueled by it.

“It’s amazing, it’s just a lot of fun to involve the crowd like that, and because they get us going,” Murray explained to Denver Sports. “They think they’re just coming to watch a game, but when they’re riled up and they’re yelling and or staying positive or whatever and cheering every play, every loose ball like that, that means a lot to us. That just makes everybody play so much harder.”

Eventually, Murray went back to torching Dunn, hitting shot after shot after shot after shot in the former Providence Friar’s face. Then it was Ivica Zubac’s turn, who somehow got switched onto him to start the second half in a play so frustrating for the Clippers coach, Lue, quickly called a timeout a minute into the third quarter.

Then it was Murray looking fresher than anyone on the court, running the Clippers ragged. They chased him around the court but never recovered in time to bother him. Things got so bleak for Los Angeles that they ran out of energy late, leaving No. 27 wide open from the corner and not fighting through screens.

The result was an utter avalanche for Murray, where he took over a game that has at least four Hall of Famers in it.

He ended it by looking into the crowd and teasing one of his famed but little-used Blue Arrow celebrations. But according to Murray, he was feeding off the people of Denver all night.

“Tonight was just another one of those nights they just kept giving us life throughout the whole game, no matter what happened, no matter what run they went on, it was always rocking, and that’s all you can ask for from the city.”

In between all of the shooting were the seven assists with some otherworldly passes. Bouncing it to Christian Braun, behind-the-backing it to Nikola Jokic and bringing the house down with an orbital lob for an Aaron Gordon alley-oop.

When all is said and done, Jamal Murray will hang up his New Balances and watch No. 27 rise to the rafters. On that day, we will always remember nights like this. And he will remember you, the fans.

“Just being here for so many years, it’s a lot of fun to have that interaction over and over and over, sometimes with the same fan, I’ve noticed like, ‘Damn, I saw you last time.’ So it’s kind of cool to even build those relationships later on and stuff like that.”

Murray’s lone free throw? A technical — gifted to him by teammates. Everything else? Earned. No shortcuts, just toughness. One-hundred percent pure, unfiltered Jamal Murray. Pushed to the hardwood, counted out and lighting up the scoreboard like only he can — just when you’re ready to write him or his team off.

“I feel like this story is really trying to be written in a negative way, so keep trying,” Adelman challenged the media and basketball gods postgame.