Despite being tied 2-2 with homecourt advantage in their first-round playoff series against the Clippers, it felt like people were writing off the Nuggets for dead. A big part of the reason why was that it just didn’t seem like the team had enough talent and depth around its superstar, Nikola Jokic.
David Adelman only trusts six players; most of them are banged up, struggling, simply not that good, or some combination of the three. Jokic has been carrying a heavy burden, and without some real help, it just didn’t seem like the Nuggets could find a way to get these last two wins and close out the series.
But on Tuesday night, Jokic got the help he needed and then some, and he got it from his old sidekick and co-star, Jamal Murray, who finally showed up when the Nuggets needed him most. Jokci was good in this game, but not great, and well below the standard he set last game, especially from a scoring perspective.
Murray was the best player on the floor in Game 5
And it didn’t matter at all because the Nuggets got the best version of Jamal Murray in Game 5. Right out of the gates, he looked springy, he was locked in and engaged, and his shot would not miss. He was weaving in and out of the paint, had the ball on a string, was moving Kris Dunn wherever he wanted, and scoring from all three levels.
It was a vintage “Playoff Murray” performance that would have made “Bubble Murray” and “Championship Murray” proud, as he carried the load from start to finish. Jamal finished with 43 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists on 17/26 shooting and 8/14 from three.
He completely controlled the game, and it didn’t matter who was guarding him; the Clippers had no answers. Murray methodically picked apart this elite LA defense, getting to the cup, floating in and out of the midrange, and burying threes. He looked as healthy and nimble as he had in ages, even throwing down an impressive dunk or two.
The Nuggets' offense was the best it's looked in a while, and it was all thanks to Murray. The Clippers tried different matchups to no avail, eventually resorting to zone to try and muck things up, and it still wasn’t enough to slow down Jamal, who simply refused to let his team lose. At least for this series, we just got “the Jamal Murray game”.
Murray unlocks title potential for Denver
We’ve known it all along, but Game 5 showed why Murray truly is the key to this Nuggets team. They are always going to be good thanks to Jokic, but when Jamal is at this level, they are unstoppable. He turns a great offense into an elite one, and when he and Jokic are in sync and he's bending defenses with his jumper, Denver is unguardable.
Are we going to see 40+ points every night from Jamal? Of course not, and they don’t even need that. They just need a steady Jamal Murray who can give the team 20+ points a night with some explosive games and clutch shots sprinkled in. If Murray can play like a true second star alongside the Joker, the sky really is the limit for the Nuggets, as the world saw on Tuesday night.