Jamal Murray crossed the 30-point threshold for the first time this season as the Denver Nuggets sped past the Detroit Pistons 134-121 on Saturday.
Murray finished with 34 points on 12-of-21 shots, cashing four threes and six free throws as he added five rebounds and five assists. In his 24th game of the season, it was Murray’s highest-scoring effort yet.
In his eighth season, Murray normally gets off to slower starts before turning it on in December. That’s been the case this year, where the Blue Arrow has found his stride since a huge fourth quarter about two weeks ago against the Kings. But it’s been a lot of tough sledding and because the Nuggets fell short last summer combined with Murray’s struggles in the Olympics has pushed many people to panic about the guard’s game. All of that comes in contrast to the giant contract extension he signed on the eve of the season.
“I know that everybody’s really riding Jamal really hard right now. That’s not going to do him any favors, man,” Michael Malone said postgame. “The guy cares. He wants to play better. He wants to help this team. His heart is in the right place. Supporting him will go a long way. That’s why I tell guys ‘Don’t look at the damn phone.’ I don’t give a damn what you guys say about me, and he shouldn’t either.”
Murray’s night on Saturday came as it often does—as a great sidekick to Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP had a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Meanwhile, Denver’s offense stayed hot by scoring over 130 points in consecutive nights thanks in part to Michael Porter Jr., who cashed five threes en route to 26 points. The 97 points the trio combined for is the most they’ve ever achieved.
“We haven’t been amazing, but everybody’s starting to finally click. Everybody’s starting to be more comfortable,” Murray said after the win. “I wouldn’t say it’s not just me, like, for me, like, I don’t, yeah, I would love to make shots every night, man, I strive to make shots every night, but I can still try to impact the game without making shots. And I’m saying, and I try to pride myself off that. So if you know, people are going to talk about me not making shots so be it, I know what I’m capable of I know what I do. And there’s a reason why I’m here, and there’s a reason why I’ve been able to win with this team and be here for years and be able to develop chemistry and all that. So, you know, I just let people talk. That’s what they do. That’s the reason why people are over there, and I’m over here.”
The Nuggets are now 17-13, splitting a back-to-back where they lost on Friday to the NBA’s best Cavs because of some horrible defense. Denver has a day off after five games in seven nights and then travels to Utah to face the Jazz to finish off 2024.
