First Jamal Murray begged for the ball, and then he begged for the crowd to roar.
On Murray’s sixth and final 3-pointer of Saturday’s Game 1 rout over the Suns, Denver’s fiery point guard pleaded for Bruce Brown to feed him as he trailed the play in transition.
With both arms extended, Murray implored Brown to pass it to him so he could hammer the final nail in the Suns’ chances. After Murray connected and the Suns called a timeout to stop the onslaught, he headed to midcourt where more than 18,000 fans waited to serenade him.
“We waited for this,” Murray shouted and then repeated.
Murray’s 34-point night was the third time he’s scored at least that many in Denver’s first six games of the postseason. After dispatching the Suns 125-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Nuggets improved to 5-1 in the playoffs overall.
His zeal and passion are the primary reasons the Nuggets have looked and played like a No. 1 seed. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic remarked in the postgame locker room how Murray has been Denver’s best player so far. It’s a sentiment he said in the first round, too.
“He’s a bad man,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, searching for ways to describe Murray’s impact after a two-year playoff hiatus.
Murray could’ve been referencing the Suns’ 4-0 sweep of Denver two seasons ago when he was relegated to the sidelines while rehabbing his ACL. And maybe he was biding his time. Or he could have been speaking personally, as a guy who craves these moments with fans yet had them robbed due to a devastating injury.
“I’ve been waiting for a while to be healthy,” said Murray, who also dished nine assists in the win.
As special as his bubble run in 2020 was, Murray’s relishing the chance to seize the playoff stage in front of his home fans. Those are the moments, he said, that he re-enacted growing up, counting down the shot clock, burying a dagger, soaking in the adulation.
“Those moments, you dream of as a kid,” he said.
Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Murray corralled a long rebound and took off in the other direction. As Kevin Durant loomed, Murray swooped, looping the ball high off the glass and out of Durant’s reach, barely. Murray said it was a move he perfected growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, on the concrete courts and the double rims.
“I used to watch a lot of Michael Jordan growing up,” Murray said.
Murray joked that it was a bit easier to finish on a smooth backboard as opposed to the rough surfaces he trained on with his dad as a kid.
After the game, Murray got defensive when asked what, if anything, the Nuggets had proven with their encouraging start to the playoffs. It was quintessential Murray, unwilling to give an inch to reporters questioning whether they expected to find this type of success.
“No, it says something to y’all,” Murray snapped. “…You’re asking us like we’re surprised.”
That, or perhaps the Nuggets didn’t get enough credit for sitting atop the Western Conference since December and were overlooked as the underdog heading into this series.
About a minute after his dagger 3-pointer, Murray was on the break when Chris Paul sent Murray to the floor with an aggressive foul to stop the transition opportunity. Murray smiled at Paul’s antics. Up big in Game 1, having already sent a resounding message to the Suns, Murray wasn’t going to bite.
“If he’s doing that then we’re doing something right,” Murray said.
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.
