"It was just lights, camera, action": Jamal Murray's best qualities shine in Game 1

Once again, the odds were stacked against Jamal Murray.

Once again, he delivered.

“Those are the games you want to be in. Those are the games that are most fun and most competitive. Those are the fights; those are the competitive spirits that you want to have,” Murray said while holding up a black shirt emblazoned with a portrait of Muhammad Ali that he wore during his postgame Zoom conference.

“The Greatest” would have approved of Monday’s playoff opener, a thrilling 135-125 Nuggets overtime win over the Utah Jazz. Trailing 109-105 with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, Murray took over following a Donovan Mitchell eight-second violation and scores eight-straight points for the Nuggets to help force overtime. Murray then carried the Nuggets in the extra period. He was responsible for four of Denver’s six overtime baskets and 10 of the Nuggets’ 20 total points over the final five minutes of action.

Following Mitchell’s costly turnover with under two minutes remaining in regulation, Murray scored 18 of the Nuggets’ final 30 points on 7 of 9 shooting and converted on all four of his 3-point attempts. He finished with 36 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

“Just the Jamal Murray show,” Michael Malone said regarding his point guard’s overtime performance.

Murray’s postgame shirt of choice was fitting. Like two heavyweight fighters, Murray and Mitchell traded blows over the last few minutes of regulation Monday. For three-straight minutes late in the fourth quarter, Murray and Mitchell were the only two players to score.

Nuggets 103 Jazz 104 (3:13 remaining): Murray makes an 18-foot runner.

Nuggets 105 Jazz 104 (2:49 remaining): Mitchell sinks a 28-foot pull-up three.

Nuggets 105 Jazz 107 (2:11 remaining): Mitchell knifes through the Nuggets’ defense for a layup.

Nuggets 105 Jazz 109 (1:39 remaining): Murray shakes Royce O’Neale and drains a pull-up three.

Nuggets 108 Jazz 109 (1:32 remaining): Mitchell draws a foul on Michael Porter Jr. and sinks two free-throws.

Nuggets 108 Jazz 111 (1:25 remaining): Murray hits a step-back three over Joe Ingles.

Nuggets 111 Jazz 111 (1:00 remaining): Murray drains another step-back jumper over Ingles.

Nuggets 113-111 (:49 remaining): Mitchell gets Murray on a switch and drills a pull-up jumper.

Somehow, someway, Murray landed the knockout punch in overtime. He sunk a fadeaway, 26-foot no-doubter triple to put Denver up 131-122 with 46 seconds remaining to seal the win.

“Jamal made really really really important shots,” said Nikola Jokic who finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists, “He didn’t miss actually.”

Murray and Mitchell’s Game 1 duel added another layer to the Nuggets-Jazz opening-round series. The two lead guards are similar in a lot of ways. Murray is 23-year-old, in his fourth NBA season and second playoff appearance. Mitchell is also 23 and in his third professional season but his third playoff appearance. Both are the frontman of their mid-market franchises that have been anchored by All-Star big men for the last several seasons.

But there are also key differences between the two franchise guards. Notably, Mitchell was an All-Star this season. Murray was not. While both Murray and Mitchell are signed to Adidas, it’s Mitchell that has his own signature shoe. Stemming from his 2018 Slam Dunk Contest win, Mitchell’s Q Score, across the NBA landscape, seems to be higher. Is Murray motivated by those factors in this matchup with Mitchell? Only he knows.

But with the game hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter, Murray began to go at Mitchell. That’s just who Murray is. He’s a gamer with an unbreakable spirit who’s willing to go head-to-head and shot-for-shot with any opponent. Somehow, Murray will go down with an injury — he appeared to roll his ankle in the first half of Game 1 — and minutes later emerge as a more locked in and focused playmaker. He did it again Monday.

Murray and Mitchell traded baskets but also barbs both within the flow of the game. Around the same time that Murray rattled off 12-straight points in just 1:25 late in the second quarter — his first scoring eruption of the day — Game 1 got testy. There was plenty of chatter between the two teams as they crossed paths on their way back to their benches during timeouts.

“There was a lot of trash-talking, good trash-talking,” Murray said. “It was fun, and that’s how us basketball players like it. We can go at each other respectfully and see who’s got more bullets. Tonight it was us.”

“It was good talk. It was good chatter out there on the floor, and that’s what made it so fun.”

The Murray-Mitchell Game 1 clash provided the perfect opening for the Nuggets’ first-round series. The two Northwest Division foes have played against each other around four times per season for the last few years. Before sparring in the NBA, Murray and Mitchell faced off in college in 2015 when Murray’s Kentucky Wildcats edged Mitchell’s Louisville Cardinals 75-73. Murray had 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists for Kentucky that night. Mitchell chipped in eight points and five rebounds off Louisville’s bench.

The two respect each other’s games.

“He had 57?” Murray said postgame when he found out how many points Mitchell had scored. “God damn, D.”

They’re friendly off the court too. Around an hour and a half after the final buzzer had sounded, Murray pulled up on Mitchell outside of the Gran Destino Tower, where the Nuggets and Jazz are staying at Walt Disney World and soaked in the win some more.

“Jamal made some tough shots,” Mitchell said postgame.

After Jazz guard Mike Conley left the bubble for the birth of his son on Sunday, the Nuggets knew they were in for an extra heavy dose of Mitchell in Game 1. They got exactly that. Mitchell played 43:14 of a possible 47 minutes Monday, while Murray logged 40:23 of action.

It made for a captivating series opener, which may have caught some at the league office off guard. The Nuggets and Jazz received the early matinee time slot Monday. Viewers in Denver and Salt Lake City hadn’t even taken their lunch breaks by the time the game tipped off at 1:30 p.m. ET. Games 2 and 3 are at 4 p.m. ET, and the Nuggets-Jazz series doesn’t shift to an evening time slot until Sunday’s Game 4.

“I guess the Utah-Denver series didn’t excite a lot of people around the league,” Malone joked. “They put us at 1:30 on the Oxygen Network.”

If Murray and Mitchell continue to go at each other as they did in Game 1, Nuggets-Jazz is must-see TV.

“Both teams are playing with passion,” Murray said. “We love this game. When guys get competitive, when guys get under each other’s skin, it brings you out more, and some people fold. Tonight was our night, and we fought back and held them off. Like I said, it was just lights, camera, action. Come on. We’re trying to get this win.”