Rudy Gobert tipped his cap. Then he tipped his hand.
“I mean, I’m not going to lie, (he) had to work for what he got,” Minnesota’s center said of Jamal Murray’s 40-point night in Denver’s tense Game 2 victory over the Timberwolves late Wednesday. “If that’s what he’s going to get, he’s going to have to work.
“First game (of the series), we thought that he didn’t have to work as much. (Game 2), he had to work. And we’re going to keep making him work. And we’re going to keep making (the Nuggets) work for anything they get and we’ll see how it goes.”
I asked Gobert if late Wednesday night at Ball Arena felt a little like déjà vu all over again, at least where The Blue Arrow was concerned. The French shot-swatter was one of the anchors of Utah’s defense at the NBA’s postseason COVID-19 bubble in 2020. Nuggets faithful know the rest of the story: Murray and then-Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell took turns landing haymakers in a series Denver would rally to win, 4-3, after staring at a 3-1 deficit.
“I mean, that’s the playoffs,” Gobert replied with a knowing smile. “Obviously, the bubble was pretty special, and that was pretty amazing to be a part of, (to) witness in person. I think every game is going to be different, you know. I really like the way Ant (Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards) came out (tonight). Obviously, Murray hit a lot of tough shots in the second half.”
With that, Edwards, who was sitting to Gobert’s right after putting up a Mitchellesque 41 points himself, leaned into the microphone.
“He did his thing,” Edwards said of Murray. “He did his thing.”
And the Blue Arrow’s thing tends to save the Nuggets’ postseason bacon. Denver’s now 16-6 since 2018 in playoff games in which the Canadian sharpshooter scores 20 points or more. And the Nuggets improved to 9-4 in the postseason over the last five seasons when Murray drops at least 25.
If Gobert is dealing with déjà vu, then Wolves point guard Mike Conley is coping with a case of Blue Arrow whiplash.
The 35-year-old Conley was also part of that Jazz roster three years earlier when Murray went wild in Orlando. Since 2020, Conley and the Blue Arrow have faced off in seven NBA playoff games — five at the bubble, two this spring. In those seven meetings, Murray is averaging 33.6 points. He’s poured in at least 24 points on five different occasions.
“He’s very talented at using his body and stepping back and getting to his spots to score,” Conley said of the Nuggets star. “(He’s a) big, strong, physical guard. So he’s just who he is. Some nights, he’s going to be like that — he’s going to score big numbers, and we just have to withstand it and try our best to hopefully shut (him) off earlier, sooner because once he gets going, it’s tough.”
The only thing Murray probably loves more than seeing Conley in the opposing backcourt is having a foil to try and match. Just as the challenge of keeping up with a red-hot Mitchell seemed to lift the Arrow’s game three years earlier, seeing Edwards torch the Nuggets late brought out Murray’s best in Game 2. The young Wolves guard poured in 27 points over 22 minutes and 41 seconds in the second half, while Murray kept pace with 22 points over 20 minutes and 14 seconds after halftime.
“Down 0-2, I’m coming out ultra-aggressive again,” Edwards vowed. “We can’t lose Game 3. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m ready to go. We’re ready to go.”
Based on the first two games of this series, Murray should be, too. No matter how hard he has to work for it.
