With only seconds left to the game, Jamal Murray took a step-back shot from 15 feet over rival Anthony Davis. Almost in slow motion, the ball dropped into the net at the buzzer, giving the Nuggets an impressive 101-99 win over the Lakers after a 20-point deficit.
An intense roar erupted at the Ball Arena as soon as the Canadian player made the shot, and he simply tumbled into his team’s bench to celebrate. “I just lost my balance and fell. I think A.D. was in my way or somebody was in my way and I just heard everybody scream and that’s how I knew it went in,” he said postgame.
Not only did Denver earn a 2-0 lead in this Western Conference first-round series, but confirmed their dominance over the purple and gold as they’ve beat them 10 times in a row. The team now prepares to head to Los Angeles as the series shift to the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Father stretch my hands par Jamal Murray.pic.twitter.com/h18IAd8c68
— The Daily Dunk (@dailydunkfr) April 23, 2024
Despite the late night drama, Murray didn’t have an easy game this Monday. The point guard had missed 13 of his first 16 shots, but found himself again through teamwork.
“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,” he recalled, as he then hit 14 points in the fourth quarter. “They told me to stay aggressive and keep looking for it, keep hunting and when I had the ball with 2 seconds left, I knew once I had made a couple, the next one should go down, as well.”
Coach Michael Malone also played a part when he decided not to call a timeout just as Michael Porter Jr. grabbed the rebound off a shot missed by LeBron James with 13 seconds on the lock and both teams tied.
“We got the stop. Tie game. Why let them get set?” asked the Nuggets tactician. “Because, when they can get set and they switch out everything, you might not even get the ball inbounds. So, I wanted to make sure we could just flow into it and let our best players make plays.”
Coach Malone praised Murray because of his capacity of staying present in the game despite struggling at first
The Canadian star might have not found his feet during the first half, but great players are able to remain concentrated throughout contests and impact the game when he’s needed the most. His coach explained why this makes him special.
“That’s Jamal Murray right there,” Malone said. “He can struggle, he can struggle, he can struggle. He sees one go in and he’s never shying away from the moment, the spotlight. And that was just an incredible play.”
His co-star Nikola Jokic, who posted another triple-double with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, said that Murray “made the tough shots today and he missed the easy ones. It was that kind of game.”
Rival LeBron James admitted that you can’t feel comfortable for one second when you’re playing the Nuggets. “A 20-point lead in this league, it’s not safe, especially against the defending champion,” the veteran assured. “We’ve got to do better. But we had our chances.”
