DENVER — After hanging on to beat the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Denver Nuggets had little time to recuperate. Their plane touched down in Colorado around 3 a.m. Wednesday, and a game against the Dallas Mavericks loomed that night.
If Jamal Murray was fatigued from the tight turnaround, he didn’t show it. Murray scored a season-high 53 points in an offensive duel against the Mavs that ended with a 142-135 win, and Denver maintained its half-game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place in the Western Conference.
“Another special night for Jamal,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “He’s had so many of these. I really hope All-NBA is something that is obvious and not an argument.”
Murray, now in his 10th year with the Nuggets, entered Wednesday’s game averaging 25 points, by far the most in his career. He was named an All-Star for the first time in February. If he makes an All-NBA team later this spring, it would also be a first. While Murray covets that accolade, his primary goal is to accomplish something he’s already done: win a championship.
Denver took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games last spring in the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets remain one of the biggest threats to a Thunder repeat. But Denver hasn’t quite coalesced the way it would have liked, largely because of injuries. Nikola Jokić missed 16 games earlier this season with a left knee injury, and forwards Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson have battled hamstring strains.
In the past week, the Nuggets have finally gotten back to having their full roster. Six of their remaining eight regular-season games are at home. Adelman is hopeful that’s enough time to find another gear before the postseason begins.
“When things are off-kilter and nothing is ever consistent, that’s how you play. You play inconsistent,” Adelman said. “This will get us a chance to settle down, hopefully have a full complement of players going forward with no back-to-backs coming, which I think we deserve. It’s been a lot. These guys deserve it. We have to get a lot of guys right — not just mentally, but physically for this stretch run — and see what we can do.”
Murray has had some monster playoff moments in his career. In Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, he went for 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Both Murray and Jokić recorded triple-doubles that night in Denver’s 109-94 win. Adelman on Wednesday cited that game as one of his favorite moments of the Jokić-Murray era in Denver.
“It’s going to be really cool when this thing is over and we look back at what these two have done here together,” Adelman said. “We are really lucky in this city to have these two people playing for this basketball team.”
Right now, it looks as though that day is a long way away.
Murray, 28, has never played better, and Jokić, 31, can still effortlessly dominate games. Jokić notched 23 points, 21 rebounds and 19 assists against Dallas — narrowly missing out on becoming the only NBA player with multiple 20/20/20 games to his name. Eight of Jokić’s assists went to Murray.
“There’s not tug-of-war with the ball,” Murray said. “It’s just fun to play this pure brand of basketball. Whether we miss or make shots, it’s just fun to play. I enjoy playing here. I enjoy my time here. I’m looking forward to what’s in store for us next.”