Jamal Murray’s ascent to superstardom has meant it’s time for opposing teams to respect him on their defensive end.
And on Thursday night, with the Los Angeles Lakers facing a possible 2-2 series against the Denver Nuggets, it was LeBron James of all players who stepped up and volunteered to bottle up Murray down the stretch in Game 4.
That’s a 35-year-old 6-foot-9 small forward volunteering to blanket a 23-year-old quick 6-foot-4 guard.
And it worked. That’s also what superstars do.
It was something James volunteered for, per Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who said he granted the request to defend Murray late in the fourth quarter.
Frank Vogel on LeBron's defense on Jamal Murray in the clutch.
"LeBron asked for the assignment and obviously I granted it. He did a great job down the stretch… Nothing was really working to slow him down until LeBron took that assignment, so game ball to him."
— Playoff Faigen (@hmfaigen) September 25, 2020
It led to plays like this (and some people think this was a foul, but I don’t):
LeBron shuts down Jamal Murray 😳 pic.twitter.com/XnnZpAUwGa
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2020
The numbers don’t lie:
While being guarded by LeBron in the final 5:40 of the 4th, Jamal Murray had 1 turnover, 1 assist, & shot 0-2, both at the rim which LeBron contested. He did get 4 free throws, but those came with Morris & Caruso switched onto him, and missed a 3rd shot with Rondo defending
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) September 25, 2020
“I knew it was winning time and Jamal had it going. … I told my teammates that I had him."
—LeBron on shutting down Jamal Murray in crunch time pic.twitter.com/hWJOwAOgjn
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 25, 2020
* @RajonRondo said on the @SpectrumSN walkoff that @KingJames switching over to guard Jamal Murray was the biggest key down the stretch.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 25, 2020
This should go down along with The Block as one of his all-time best defensive moments. Remember: this is the same James who has sometimes found times in games to slow down on defense in order to get his energy right for when it’s needed the most. But we’ve seen that when he’s needed to be clutch on the other end of the floor, he answers the call, just like he did in Game 3 against the Rockets.
Instead of a 2-2 series against a young, feisty and incredibly talented Nuggets team, the Lakers have a 3-1 lead. And although Denver now has to face a THIRD straight series coming back down 3-1 this postseason, there’s one stat that stands out about James:
LeBron James has never lost a playoff series when he’s been up 3-1. (Won one when he was down 3-1 though)
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) September 25, 2020
That’s how huge his defense on Murray really was.
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