Monday was Jamal Murray‘s night. Sinking a game-winner as time expired, Murray led the Denver Nuggets to a 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their playoff series.
While his fourth-quarter feat was the story of the evening, it wasn’t easy for the most part. Entering the final 12 minutes of the game, Murray tallied just six points to his name. He would then find his touch to score 14 points in the final period, and for this he thanked no one else but his teammates.
“I just wanna give all the credit to my teammates, coaches, (my) pops,” Murray said, in a postgame interview with NBA on TNT. “I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’mma look for ya’ll.’ And every single one of them told me to keep shooting, be aggressive.”
“Even when I was throwing up that bulls**t floater, they just told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it — keep hunting it. I had the ball with a fews seconds left. I knew once I made a couple, the next one should go down as well.”
“I knew once I made a couple, you know the next one should go down as well… If it wasn’t for my teammates, I might not even get to that shot.”
Jamal Murray on his game-winner against the Lakers 🙌
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/VbrMKoBYuk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2024
Murray certainly overshadowed that bulls**t floater with the buzzer beater. To get there, however, the Nuggets had to overcome a 20-point deficit.
The Nuggets storm back to take Game 2
LA was in control for most of the game. During the first half, the Lakers outscored the Nuggets to take a 59-44 advantage. It would only get worse early in the third, as LA raced to the aforementioned 20-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the quarter.
However, as the saying goes, never underestimate the heart of a champion. Denver would start a rally that turned the tide of the game. Behind Nikola Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets cut the deficit to 10 points entering the fourth.
And as mentioned, in the final quarter, Jamal Murray took over. Whether it was a layup or a mid-ranger, the Canadian guard managed to put the ball in the basket. Chipping away at the lead, the Nuggets tied the game with 1:15 remaining courtesy of a Michael Porter Jr. three.
D’Angelo Russell then scored a layup for the Lakers and Murray hit two free throws to respond. Another exchange of baskets between LeBron James and Murray kept the game at a deadlock with 30 seconds left. After the Lakers failed to convert on a shot with 16 seconds left, it was Murray time.
Sizing up the Nuggets defense near halfcourt, Murray used a Nikola Jokic screen to get Anthony Davis switched on him. Driving to the right baseline, he then took step back and fired away in front of Davis’ outstretched arm — swish.
As the shot hit the bottom of the net, Ball Arena burst into a deafening roar of euphoria.
Moving forward, the Nuggets now fly to Los Angeles to try and steal the next two games in front of the Lakers fandom. It’ll certainly be a challenge, but Murray has faith in his team.
“If it wasn’t for my teamates, I might not even get to that shot,” Murray added. “I did what I could today. I tried to pick it up on defense…it was just a great team win. We all stuck together, they came out hot and firing, and like I said it was a great effort.”
