Jamal Murray knows the Nuggets are fighting for their lives

DENVER — Jamal Murray was having trouble sticking with a celebration in the second half Thursday.

In the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets’ 120-113 win over the Detroit Pistons, Murray went with the one the Pepsi Center crowd was most accustomed to seeing. Murray drilled a three-pointer in transition, pretended to pull an arrow out of his quiver then fired it.

The bow-and-arrow brag became Murray’s trademark move in college at the University of Kentucky, and he’s stuck with it in two seasons as a pro. He’s dusted it off dozens of times as a Nugget when the moment is right. So it was a little surprising when Murray opted to do something different the next quarter.

With a little less than two minutes remaining, Murray got Pistons center Andre Drummond to bite on an up-and-under move. When Drummond jumped, Murray ducked under and scooped the ball in. On his way back to the defensive end, he licked his fingers as if he’d just taken down a rack of ribs.

“It’s just something whenever I make a nice move I guess,” Murray said. “I don’t know why I started doing that. It’s always just an in-the-game thing. I never plan on doing it.”

Murray finished the game with a team-high 26 points, responding with a strong outing after he was booed relentlessly in a tough road loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. Murray didn’t back down in that game, scoring 18 points in a hostile environment. Two nights later, he was even better as Denver took care of business in a must win.

Murray caught fire in the third quarter before he fired off any arrows. He scored 15 points in the period alone. He finished the night 9-17 from the field and 5-8 from three-point territory.

Denver opened up a 26-point lead over Detroit with 3:22 in the third thanks largely to Murray and Nikola Jokic, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the season. The Pistons made it interesting in the fourth, slicing Denver’s lead to as few as five, but the Nuggets eked out a much-needed win with a seven-game road trip looming.

“Like I said, it was a huge win,” Murray said. “We didn’t even think about the road trip. I didn’t even know we were leaving tomorrow. I thought we were leaving today. We have to focus on every game at a time and not feed on looking ahead. Today was a great start, and it just feeds into the momentum of next game.”

The seven-game trip starts Saturday in Memphis and concludes March 30 in Oklahoma City. In between are stops in Miami, Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia and Toronto.

“We’ve got to prepare for Memphis like it’s our last game,” Murray said. “When Miami comes up, prepare for Miami. We can’t look ahead too much. Take every possession serious and know we’re we’re fighting for our lives right now.”

The Nuggets (38-31) still sit in 10th place heading into the road trip, but Thursday’s win was a step in the right direction. Jokic, who recorded 23 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, dominated the flow of the game. Will Barton (23 points, 8-16 FG) got back on track after a dismal showing in Los Angeles. Paul Millsap scored 14 points and showed impressive chemistry with Denver’s starting group.

And then there was Murray, the second-year point guard, who led his team in scoring and also chipped in on the boards.

“Jamal hit some big, big shots,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He got into a rhythm. But the best stat about Jamal Murray tonight? Not 26 points, not 5-8 from three, but nine rebounds. When your starting point guard goes out there and gets nine rebounds that’s big.”

Murray angered the Lakers over the weekend with what they interpreted as showboating. Lakers coach Luke Walton called Murray’s antics “disrespectful” Friday. If Denver’s two games since Walton made that comment were any indication, Murray isn’t going to change who he is.

He’ll keep firing arrows. And if it feels right, he might lick his fingers, too.