Jamal Murray delivered the dagger with 1:46 to play. As the shot clock was winding down, the Nuggets’ 22-year-old point guard took two dribbles to his left, stepped sideways to create space, got Steven Adams to bite on a pump fake and flicked in a 3. The shot stretched Denver’s lead to double digits and capped what Nuggets coach Michael Malone called “Jamal’s most complete game in a Nuggets uniform.”
Murray’s shotmaking in Denver’s 115-110 win in Oklahoma City was Kyrie Irving-esque. There were scoops around the basket, fallaways from 10-15 feet and triples in transition and halfcourt. Murray connected on 11 of 20 shots on his way to a game-high 27 points. He was spectacular as a scorer, but that was only a piece of why his head coach was beaming with pride afterward. What was even more impressive, Malone said, was how Murray ran his team.
“I liked his poise, his leadership, his maturity,” Malone said. “And that’s not easy to do against that team in this building. They turn people over, and they can make you look really bad in a heartbeat. Just Jamal’s control. He never got sped up. He was always in control.”
The Thunder harass opponents into 16.9 turnovers per game, the most in the NBA. Yet Murray dealt with their length, athleticism and rowdy crowd as coolly as Andre Miller at a Sunday morning pickup run, handing out nine assists and committing no turnovers. Friday was one of Murray’s best games as a pro in terms of table setting. At times, he was surgical in slicing up Oklahoma City’s fourth-ranked defense.
This dime to Nikola Jokic inside was one example of Murray’s guile. He knows Denver has a four on three advantage when Terrance Ferguson and Adams both challenge him in the pick and roll. Murray pretends like he’s going to throw it cross court to Gary Harris, which fools Russell Westbrook just enough to create the passing window to Jokic.
Notice how Westbrook is leaning toward Harris as Murray prepares to whip the ball across his body. The best playmakers are experts at manipulating defenses with subtle fakes like this one. Not telegraphing where you’re going to throw the ball creates lanes that otherwise wouldn’t exist and turns contested looks into wide-open ones. Murray did an expert of using fakes to score and set his teammates up. In the clip below, he gets Westbrook again but this time with a pump fake. Torrey Craig nails a wide-open corner 3 as a result.
The Nuggets went 14 of 33 from beyond the arc after shooting just 22.5% in their three previous games combined. They averaged 115.2 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt, according to Cleaning the Glass, which put them in the 94th percentile among all games played this season. It was no coincidence that their offense was humming on a night when Murray was not only making shots but creating good looks for others.
His most acrobatic assist of the evening came shortly after halftime. Murray drove left, elevated and found Harris alone in the right corner.
That Murray was able to get it to Harris with his weak hand while two defenders blanketed him was impressive. He couldn’t even see Harris when he released the ball. Murray’s ability to finish around the rim and pass with his left hand is an underrated part of his game.
The Nuggets were in control throughout. They had an answer any time the Thunder threatened. Oklahoma City sliced the lead to six with 3:18 on a Westbrook layup, but that was as close as it got down the stretch. Denver responded by going to a staple of its crunch-time offense: the Murray-Jokic two-man game. Denver’s Canadian point guard and Serbian center have developed special chemistry in what’s now their third season together. In the play below, Murray screens to free Jokic up, gets the ball back and hooks a gorgeous bounce pass around Adams.
On the Nuggets’ next possession, Murray hit a 3 from the left wing that all but ended any chance the Thunder had.
“I loved how he played tonight,” Malone said. “He ran his team — nine assists, no turnovers — he scored big baskets, and he defended at a high level. That’s the Jamal Murray we need every night moving forward.”
Murray is the Nuggets’ X-factor. When he plays well, they go to a different level. He’s brilliant in flashes but has been inconsistent, which has frustrated his head coach at times. After Golden State torched Denver earlier this month 122-105, Malone was asked about Monte Morris’ six-assist, one-turnover game and remarked that it was “a novel concept” for a Nuggets point guard to get the team into its offense.
Murray is still figuring out the right balance between scoring and setting others up. His shot selection can be shaky at times, and he has struggled in situations when defenses turn up the pressure. But Friday was a huge step in the right direction.
“I was excited watching him play not because he scored 27, had nine assists and five rebounds, but just the leadership,” Malone said. “That’s what we need. Yes, we need talent. But we had a young man tonight who for grew up and took a step in the right direction. Now the challenge is what? Let’s do it every night.”
In his first three seasons as a pro, Murray has wowed with his scoring ability. The next step for him is impacting the game in other ways. He did that in Oklahoma City, helping his team earn a hard-earned win in ways besides just putting the ball in the basket.
