Tag: Jamal Murray

3 bets to make on Game 3 of the NBA Finals, including another dynamite Bam Adebayo performance

Expect Adebayo to light it up yet again in South Beach.

Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals fell more or less in line with the incredible story of the Miami Heat’s entire postseason. After taking an initial punch, Miami entered Denver, shut things down in the fourth quarter, and handed the Western Conference champs their first home loss of the playoffs.

In a stunner for the Nuggets, they were forced to pick up the pieces and wonder where matters went awry. But it would be silly to envision them falling apart now. In the expected outcome for the Heat — because they truly believe they’re never out of a game — they’ve got their focus squarely on three more wins.

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The journey to a championship for both squads continues tonight as the series shifts to Miami for Games 3 and 4 (on Friday). And while these Finals are proving to be unpredictable (in the best way), here are a few bets you can count on for Wednesday.

All odds courtesy of DraftKings.

NBA fans think the Nuggets made a huge mistake not calling timeout before possible game-tying 3 attempt

There’s no way this was the best the Nuggets could do.

Despite the Miami Heat’s status as postseason comeback kings, the Denver Nuggets had a chance to match their opponents’ clutch factor in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Once the Heat took a late 107-95 lead, the Nuggets went on a 13-4 run to give themselves a chance at a surprising win.

And when Jimmy Butler missed a long jump shot, Denver — which had two timeouts and just over 11 seconds on the clock — could’ve tied the matchup and sent it to overtime at 111 points apiece.

But rather than stop the action and call a timeout to draw up a quality play, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone trusted Jamal Murray to figure something out in free-flow chaos and play the hero for his team. Murray would get a good look but couldn’t bury the shot as the Heat hung on to tie the series.

And it’s this no-timeout decision that folks from the outside looking in are questioning:

There’s something to be said about having faith that Murray would make the right decision in the clutch without any additional input or structure. He’s one of the NBA’s premier shooters and was already in rhythm with two three-pointers in the final few minutes.

Plus, if you’re the Nuggets, you might want to avoid Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra getting a chance to set his elite half-court defense. This was precisely Malone’s logic, as he explained after the game:

“You take a timeout, you let them get set, you let them review whatever play they think that we’re going to run and there’s a great chance that we don’t get a quality shot like Jamal [Murray] got,” Malone said, “which was on line and from my perspective, looked like it had a great chance of going in. And we’ve seen Jamal [Murray] make shots like that before.”

I understand the logic. I do. But everything about that last sequence seemed so chaotic from a glance and all subsequent viewings. Even if you think it’s theoretically better to trust your best shooter in that situation, trusting someone like Nikola Jokic to create something (either for himself or someone else) out of a set play is a much better idea.

9 compelling storylines about the Denver Nuggets since no one thinks they’re actually interesting

Give the Nuggets a bit of credit here, folks.

Over the last few days since the Nuggets promptly did away with the Lakers after their 4-0 Western Conference finals sweep, there’s been lots of complaining from fans and NBA media folks alike. People have constantly been talking about how NBA Finals ratings will be down.

On top of that, instead of folks talking about the actual potential matchups ahead of us, most talk has been about LeBron James potentially retiring and what the Lakers could do next to improve their team.

And, look. I get it. It’s LeBron James. It’s the Lakers. Those are two enormous draws packed in tightly together. It’s easy money to talk about — that’s fine.

But then, as that conversation has died down a bit, we’ve had more and more people talk about how the Nuggets just aren’t all that interesting. Here’s Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix doing exactly that.

Not to take down Mannix in any way here — he’s a journalist who is good at his job. That’s why he’s been around for as long as he has. But he’s wrong here. There’s really no way around it.

Not only are the Nuggets a compelling team, but they’re incredibly fun and watchable. Just to prove it, here are 10 storylines surrounding the Denver Nuggets heading into the NBA Finals that we should all be paying attention to.

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Jamal Murray had the coldest response to being asked about burying the Lakers’ season

This was absolutely savage.

The Denver Nuggets are on a mission right now, and their dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers is the best example. (Sorry, Jack Nicholson.)

With the Lakers effectively fighting to make the Western Conference Finals a reasonable series Saturday night, the Nuggets buried a dagger into their heart. Denver’s 119-108 win not only gave it a 3-0 series lead, it put the Rocky Mountain franchise on the doorstep of its first-ever NBA Finals.

But it’s not hard to forget that the Nuggets are running through LeBron James — one of the greatest basketball players ever — and the Lakers — one of the NBA’s best teams historically — en route to their title goal.

Well, for Jamal Murray, it apparently is, as some of his postgame comments demonstrate. The Nuggets, while happy to put the Lakers on the brink, have much bigger fish to fry than a mere Western Conference title.

Just listen to this ice-cold quote from Murray to ESPN’s Lisa Salters:

Phew. There’s zero hesitation from Murray, too. The Nuggets don’t just want the West. They’re in it for the Larry O’Brien Trophy next month, and they’re certainly playing like it.

Truly, the Lakers are only “in their way.”

I would not want to play these Nuggets and Murray in a playoff series right now, that’s for sure.

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Jamal Murray called his own ‘BANG!’ and pointed to Mike Breen after a clutch 3-pointer

What a wonderful tribute to Mike Breen!

Jamal Murray looked like the best player on the court on Thursday.

He led the Nuggets to a victory over the Lakers and took control of the series, 2-0, and had an outstanding scoring performance. He led all scorers with 37 points (11-24 FG, 6-14 3P, 9-10 FT) while also adding 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

It was an excellent showing from Murray, who played especially well late in the game, dropping 23 points in the fourth quarter. After one of his clutch 3-pointers over LeBron James late in the game, Murray also had a particularly iconic celebration.

He yelled “BANG!” like the ESPN announcer Mike Breen, then he pointed directly at Breen as he got back on defense.

This was such a legendary move from Murray and will go down as one of the highlights of the series, especially if the Nuggets advance to the NBA Finals.

What a wonderful tribute to Breen!

Also: If you want to learn more about how the announcer decided on this catchphrase, you can read this story from my colleague Charles Curtis.

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LeBron James classily gave Jamal Murray a thumbs up after a tough shot

A classy moment from LeBron (and the response was hilarious).

You know the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t looking down at all in their Western Conference Finals opponent in the Denver Nuggets.

After all, Nikola Jokic is the best player in the game, and the supporting cast includes Jamal Murray, who has proven once again to be a star when it counts the most in the postseason.

So I’m not totally surprised that LeBron James acknowledged Murray after the point guard hit a tough shot in the Nuggets’ Game 1 win, which was classy. And then Murray gave him the same face and thumbs up back, which was just delightful.

Check it out:

LOL. I love it so much.

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Jamal Murray’s reaction to a weird technical foul became an instant meme

Jamal Murray face is a meme again.

Jamal Murray has been here before.

The Denver Nuggets guard — shoutout to him coming back this year and re-establishing himself as one of the NBA’s best point guards! — has been a meme thanks to his reactions during the NBA playoffs.

This time, Murray made a hoop and then got in Landry Shamet’s face to let the Phoenix Suns guard know who was boss … and then for some reason, Murray got a technical for taunting, which apparently is a thing even though this isn’t the NFL the last time I checked.

The reaction became an instant meme of course, and it’s great:

Denver Nuggets 2023 playoff gear

Celebrate the #Nuggets moving on by grabbing their latest playoff gear:

The Denver Nuggets got off to a slow start in Game 5 of their opening-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it’s not the style points that matter, it’s the final result, and a 112-109 victory gave the Nuggets a 4-1 series win and spot in the conference semifinals.

The Nuggets got another MVP-caliber effort from Nikola Jokic, who helped put Denver over the finish line. Jokic he finished with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 5. It was his second triple-double of the series.

A second-round effort like that will be needed from Jokic, as the Nuggets already know who their next foe is: The Phoenix Suns.

That best-of-seven is set to tip off on Saturday, giving Denver fans plenty of time to get ready to gear up and support their team.

Check out the line of the latest 2023 playoff gear for the Nuggets below:

Jamal Murray had the classiest move for Nuggets coach Mike Malone after playoff series win

Mike Malone was absolutely shocked by this kind gesture.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 on Tuesday and advanced to the second round of the postseason.

The win was the 25th that Nuggets head coach Malone has recorded in the postseason for Denver, passing 1988 NBA Coach of the Year Doug Moe (24) for the most in franchise history.

Malone also passed Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Karl for the most wins by a Nuggets coach in the playoffs (21) earlier in the series against Minnesota as well.

He could potentially pass both Moe (432) and Karl (423) for the most regular-season wins in franchise history either at the end of next season or the beginning of the following season.

When it was time to celebrate after the game, once Malone was finished praising his team, it was his turn to receive some love as well.

Following Malone’s postgame speech, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray made an announcement and surprised the coach. He made the classy move to give his coach the game ball for the accomplishment.

Malone was shocked by the unexpected gesture from his team:

Malone then led his team to chant “FAMILY!” before they parted ways.

These are exactly the vibes you want to see from the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Denver will play the No. 4 seed Suns in the next round of the postseason, which begins after a few days of rest on April 29.

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Jalen Green impresses in return, but Jamal Murray leads Nuggets past Rockets

#Rockets guard Jalen Green returned from a groin injury and played well in limited minutes, but Denver’s Jamal Murray was too much to handle in Houston’s 10th straight loss.

HOUSTON — The losing streak for the Rockets (13-48) is at 10 games after Tuesday’s 133-112 loss (box score) at Toyota Center. Led by 32 points from Jamal Murray, the victorious Denver Nuggets continue to own the Western Conference’s best record (44-19).

Murray, who was questionable to play pregame with a sore back, connected on 12-of-18 shots (66.7%) and 5-of-10 from 3-point range (50.0%). Following an historic 71-point outburst by Portland’s Damian Lillard on Sunday, it was the second straight game that Houston was torched by an opposing guard who shredded its defense.

Yet, when accounting for the superior competition, there were at least some positives for the young and rebuilding Rockets. For starters, they had Jalen Green successfully return from a groin injury, and Houston also expects to get injured backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr. back in its lineup Wednesday versus Memphis.

While on a minutes limitation, Green was impressive with 17 points and 5 assists versus the Nuggets in 19 minutes, shooting 7-of-15 from the field (46.7%) and 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%).

Other key statistics for the Rockets included:

  • Tari Eason: 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists; 7-of-10 shooting (70.0%)
  • Daishen Nix: 14 points, 5 assists; 6-of-10 shooting (60.0%), 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50.0%)
  • KJ Martin: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; 7-of-13 shooting (53.8%)
  • TyTy Washington: 12 points, 5 assists; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%), 2-of-5 on 3-pointers (40.0%)
  • Josh Christopher: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; 5-of-11 shooting (45.5%), 1-of-3 on 3-pointers (33.3%)

Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interviews. Next up for the Rockets is part two of a tough back-to-back when Memphis visits Houston on Wednesday night. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Central.