"A couple Advils" and another 4th-quarter takeover: Jamal Murray looks like he's back

When Michael Malone addressed his team during an early third-quarter timeout, his starting point guard was noticeably absent from the Nuggets’ huddle.

Moments earlier, Jamal Murray walked off the court clutching his left shoulder after aggravating the injury that had been bothering him for weeks. Murray then sat alone throughout the timeout on the Nuggets’ bench with a towel over his head and massaged his ailing shoulder. Two of Denver’s trainers soon came over to offer their assistance.

When the timeout ended, Murray, who postgame described the pain as “a real hot feeling” that shot up from his shoulder to his neck, walked straight back on the floor.

“I took a couple Advils,” Murray said. “I was straight.”

What followed was a vintage Jamal Murray explosion. Few players can regroup after an injury like Murray can, channel their focus, and raise their game to new heights. We’ve seen it time and time again throughout Murray’s career. We saw it last regular season. We saw it throughout Denver’s 2020 playoff run. We saw it again Tuesday.

Murray was sitting on five points on just 1-7 shooting when Malone called a timeout with 8:10 left in the third. He was still sitting on five points but on 1-8 shooting by the time the fourth quarter started.

Then, the Advil kicked in and Murray went off.

Murray scored 19 of Denver’s 33 fourth-quarter points to lead the Nuggets to a much-needed 111-106 win on the point guard’s 24th birthday. Murray sunk three triples over the final 12 minutes of regulation, trash-talked Portland’s coaching staff after one made three near the Blazers’ bench, and assisted Nikola Jokic on his 16-foot jumper with 1:27 left in the fourth that pushed the Nuggets’ lead to nine points.

“I felt like I was very passive throughout three quarters,” Murray said. “But when I need to turn it on, I turn it on.”

With apologies to Jokic’s effortless scoring (he had his fourth 40+ point game of the season Tuesday) and Michael Porter Jr.’s intermittent heat checks, there’s nothing more exciting in Nuggets basketball than Murray’s fourth-quarter flurries. It takes exactly one made three for Murray to catch fire. That shot came on a designed play out of a Nuggets timeout where Murray ran along the baseline from corner to corner and sunk a catch-and-shoot three behind a Zeke Nnaji screen.

Murray then hit five of his next eight shots and went 4-4 from the line throughout the rest of the fourth.

“It’s impressive,” Malone said of Murray’s fourth-quarter eruption. “It’s a sight to behold.”

His recent fourth-quarter barrages are responsible for the career-high averages — 21 points (47.4 FG%, 38.7 3P%), 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists — that Murray’s all of a sudden posting this season. Tuesday against the Blazers was the fourth time in Murray’s career that he’s scored 19+ points in a fourth quarter. Three of those four instances have occurred over Murray’s last four games.

Jamal Murray’s last four fourth quarters

• 2/23 vs. Portland: 19 points (6-10 FG’s, 3-4 3FG’s)
• 2/21 vs. Atlanta: 16 points (5-9 FG’s, 2-6 3FG’s)
• 2/19 vs. Cleveland: 20 points (8-10 FG’s, 4-5 3FG’s)
• 2/17 vs. Washington: 19 points (6-9 FG’s, 4-5 3FG’s)

The one-man wrecking machine from the bubble is back. Over his last seven games, Murray is averaging 30.1 points on 55.1% shooting from the field and 47.7% from three, 5.9 rebounds and 5 assists per game. During last year’s playoffs, Murray averaged 26.5 points on 50.5% shooting from the field, 45.3% from three, 4.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists.

Murray has nearly flipped the script on his disappointing, inconsistent and somewhat predictable opening month of the season.

“Has he been up-and-down this year? Of course. He would agree with that. Has he been phenomenal as of late? Yes, he has,” Malone said. “This is historically accurate. This is who Jamal has been in five years. Somewhat of a slow starter. Somewhat up and down. And once he hits his stride, watch out. And then we all know and have seen what he does in the playoffs. He takes his game to another level.”

“Would I love as a coach for him to start the season off playing at a high level? Yes, I would. But I also understand these are crazy times. Jamal left his heart and soul on the floor in Orlando. And my job is to constantly challenge him, support him, show him love, show him confidence. Because that’s how I believe you get the best out of your players.”

An added dynamic to Denver’s attack that’s brought the best out of Murray has been his newfound backcourt partner. Because of injuries to Gary Harris and PJ Dozier, Facu Campazzo’s playing time has spiked. The rookie from Argentina is averaging 28.8 minutes over his last six games after logging just 11.8 minutes per game over his first 22 appearances this season. Across Denver’s last six matchups, Campazzo’s also sharing the floor with Murray for an average of 18.7 minutes per game.

The results have been sublime.

Over the Nuggets’ first 25 games of the season, Murray and Campazzo played only 50 total minutes together. But over Denver’s last six games, Murry and Campazzo have shared the floor for 112 minutes. Denver has outscored its opponent by an average of 16.9 points per 100 possessions over those 112 minutes (123.7 Offensive Rating, 106.8 Defensive Rating).

On the season, the Nuggets are outscoring their opponent by 12.1 points per 100 possessions with Murray and Campazzo on the floor (123 Offensive Rating, 110.9 Defensive Rating). Against the Blazers, the Nuggets were a +12 in the 17 minutes Murray and Campazzo played together.

Freeing Murray from his primary ball-handling duties allows him to move differently within Denver’s offense. He can run off screens and catch the ball on the run. It opens up an entirely new offensive dynamic for the Nuggets and relieves Murray of the burden of dribbling the ball up the floor on most possessions.

“It’s just picking my spots,” Murray said of playing alongside another point guard. “I’m a combo guard, scoring guard. I can shoot and get to the rim and handle and all that. But when we have two, three other point guards out there it’s just a different look. I’ve got to space the floor more. If it’s a late shot clock, I’ve got to go get it. But I’ve got to let them have their game too. I’ve got to let Monte play his game and get to his mid-range. And I’ve got to let Facu handle the ball and find guys.”

This is the Jamal Murray that the Nuggets were hoping they’d get from the start of the season. Murray’s attempting 9.3 three-pointers per game over his current seven-game run and has combined a new-found aggressiveness from three with a controlled, smart floor game. This Jamal Murray is an All-Star.

Murray of course wasn’t among the seven All-Star reserves announced Tuesday evening. Being named an All-Star was one of Murray’s personal goals entering the season. However, even Murray surely realized that the combination of Denver’s mediocre record and his inconsistent play would keep him out of the mid-season showcase this year.

But this Jamal Murray can accomplish something much greater. The sky’s the limit for the Nuggets if they get this Jamal Murray combined with an MVP-level Jokic, a maturing Porter, who turned in another complete game against Portland, and contributions from X-factors like Campazzo and Monte Morris who took Damian Lillard out of most of Tuesday’s game.

“Obviously, you find some milestones and you miss out on some,” Murray said. “But there’s a lot more to achieve this season than just being an All-Star.”

“Championship is the goal.”