Jamal Murray sliced through the guts of Minnesota’s defense before flipping the ball, blindly, in the vague direction of the hoop.

After his reverse layup fell on the first possession of the second half, the Nuggets guard was planted on the baseline, preening at his circus shot, which also drew a foul.

“I mean, I do that sometimes,” he said from the postgame podium late Tuesday after torching the Timberwolves for 35 points as Denver ousted Minnesota from the playoffs with a gripping Game 5 win. Murray’s passionate, emotional brand of basketball was vital against a T-Wolves team that started strong and fought to the finish.

Without Murray’s rare ability to perform when the pressure mounts, the Nuggets are probably headed back to Minneapolis for Game 6. Instead, they’ve bought themselves a handful of invaluable rest days before opening the second-round playoff series Saturday against Phoenix in Game 1.

Like Easter eggs buried throughout the lower bowl, Murray dropped little hints throughout his postgame news conference of the brimming confidence that’s consumed him five games into this postseason run.

Asked if he lived for these moments, as Nuggets coach Michael Malone had suggested in his postgame session, Murray was taken aback by the question.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “What? We had a slow start and once they started talking they woke us up.”

The trash talk came, in part, from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, whose defense became a talking point throughout the five-game series. His length and physicality, often lasting the full length of the court, bothered Murray at times. That Alexander-Walker’s defense was being spotlighted against Murray irritated Denver’s irascible guard.

“The talk was he was doing a decent job so I had to …” Murray said before trailing off.

Malone suggested it got under Murray’s skin, too.

“I think Jamal Murray was tired of hearing about that narrative.”

Murray had spent part of Monday night watching Miami’s Jimmy Butler hang 56 points on the Milwaukee Bucks, riding his visceral emotions to a pulsating win at home. It’s the same vein Murray’s tapped into numerous times.

“Jimmy was incredible,” Murray said, admitting that Butler’s performance gave him goosebumps.

Butler has a reputation of rising to the occasion in the postseason. Through five games, with an average of over 27 points per game, Murray’s doubled down on that perception of himself.

“I believe so,” Murray said when asked if he had a similar playoff penchant as Butler.

Malone couldn’t put his finger on what ailed the Nuggets to start the game and cited the awful weather outside for a late-arriving crowd. He credited Murray’s preposterous shot-making, particularly in the third quarter, for igniting the noise.

After his reverse layup, he drained a turnaround fadeaway over Alexander-Walker. Then he sunk another 3-pointer over his fellow Canadian, the one who supposedly had his number. When he hit another deep two, despite more pressure from Minnesota’s rangy guard, a snarl stretched across his face and he had some words for the T-Wolves’ bench.

Murray’s shot-making was astounding, but the Nuggets likely wouldn’t have won if he didn’t find a way to push his teammates forward as well.

Nikola Jokic managed a 28-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double but wasn’t as efficient against the T-Wolves’ towering frontcourt as he had been. Sitting at the podium late Tuesday night, Jokic anointed Murray the star of Denver’s first round.

“He was our best player this series,” Jokic said.

Jokic cited Murray’s energy, shot-making and leadership.

With Michael Porter Jr. sitting on zero points through three quarters, Murray got in his forward’s ear.

“Just told him stay locked in, it’s coming back to you,” Murray said

Porter responded with a seismic fourth quarter to help close out the Wolves and ensure Denver didn’t have to get on another plane until the second round.

Murray’s return to the postseason has been remarkable. And now that he’s back on this stage again, he’s taking his teammates along for the ride.

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