Jamal Murray just hit one of the greatest shots in modern NBA history in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Murray sank a step-back game-winner at the buzzer over Anthony Davis to help the Denver Nuggets come away with a 101-99 win and he spoke at length about what went into that shot after the game.
“I just want to give all the credit to my teammates, coaches, pops,” Murray said when asked to put the moment into words. “I told my teammates when I was struggling, ‘I’m gonna look for y’all,’ and every single one of them told me to keep shooting. Be aggressive, keep shooting, even when I was throwing up that bulls*** floater… I had the ball with a few seconds left and I knew once I made a couple, the next one should go down as well.”
Murray was terrible for the first three quarters, with just six points on 3-16 shooting but his teammates still believed in him. He repaid that faith with 14 points in the fourth and Shaquille O’Neal wondered when Murray knew he was going for that step-back over Davis for the win.
“I think we went a double screen and we were trying to figure out if they’re going to switch,” Murray stated. ” They switched and I knew I hit a couple of shots over AD in history so I knew he was going to press up. If I just kind of looked at the rim and then I just beat him to my spot and elevated and went through my shot and I’m thankful enough that, that was one of the few that went down for me.”
That was such an impressive shot and it speaks to Murray’s confidence in his abilities that he knew he could manipulate Davis to get to his spot and drill it. With his fourth-quarter exploits, the 27-year-old further solidified himself as one of the greatest playoff risers of this generation.
Murray, who finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks, helped the Nuggets pull off a win that seemed almost impossible in the third quarter. The Lakers were up by 20 points at one stage in the third and it looked like they would finally end that nine-game losing streak to the Nuggets.
Murray ensured that wouldn’t happen and he basically won his team the series with that shot, I think. I had the Nuggets as the clear favorite in the series but things might have gotten interesting had the Lakers stolen home-court advantage. Now with that not happening and LA suffering such a brutal defeat, I think Denver wins this series in five.
Jamal Murray Wants To Be The Best Ever
While I called Murray one of the greatest playoff risers of this generation, he obviously, aspires to be even better than that. Murray said he wants to be the greatest ever and added that Nikola Jokic is the greatest player right now.
“And I strive to be the greatest. I want to be the best player ever. Obviously, if you don’t shoot high, then you’re never going to get there. I think Jokic is the greatest player right now. And I try to be a close second.”
That’s the right mindset to have, of course. To be regarded as one of the best, though, Murray needs to start playing better in the regular season. He has yet to even make an All-Star team, which sounds ridiculous, but he just has not played all that well in the regular season. Murray matched his career-high for points per game this season at 21.2 and that number needs to go up for him to get an All-Star nod.
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