Playoff mode activated.
Jamal Murray sustained his sizzling display in this year’s NBA Playoffs, as he went on to fuel the Denver Nuggets’ first blood series win against the Phoenix Suns, 125-107, for the opener of the Western Conference Semis this Saturday.
Murray dazzled in front of the jam-packed Ball Arena, exploding for 34 points, nine assists and five boards. He also unleashed a 6-of-9 shooting from the three-point arc, most notably his back-to-back treys that propelled the Nuggets’ 14-0 blitz in the fourth frame that ultimately dusted off the Suns.
Following the said play, Murray can only hype up the Denver supporters from the sidelines as he is back to where he finally belongs – in the league’s postseason arena.
“Those moments you dream of as a kid, you trying to reenact those in the back yard. You just count down or feeling the energy or hitting a big shot and hearing the crowd that loud,” said Murray in postgame. “You live for those moments and you want to make the most of those moments.
“I’ve been waiting for a while to be healthy, to be back and playing at this level during this time of the year.”
Besides being the catalyst of the Nuggets’ Game 1 home victory, Murray also made history. He went on to tie franchise legend Alex English for the second most 30/5/5 playoff games in Denver’s record books (h/t StatMuse).
After being out for 1 ½ years because of his ACL injury, Murray knows that he has to start from scratch to build that momentum once again and erase the criticisms of many in his game.
As he now seizes the moment and the grinding pressure of postseason action, the Canadian star is keeping that chip in his shoulder to also support the Nuggets to reach its ultimate goal.
So far in six games this playoffs, Murray is averaging 28.3 points while shooting over 48 percent from the field.
“I don’t know how many times I gotta prove myself for y’all to believe in my game, or believe in what I do, or my health, or whatever it is. I can only just keep doing and keep trending and prove everybody wrong,” Murray noted in his Inside The NBA interview.
“So like I said, we’re going to keep improving, try to get this Game 2 on Monday, and prove the doubters wrong. Maybe that’s it.
