Mile High Sports

Jamal Murray hits game-winner AGAIN, Nuggets win series over Los Angeles Lakers

Ryan Blackburn

Apr 29, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) reacts with forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers in game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

There was an incredible amount of trepidation about Jamal Murray’s injury pregame from the Denver Nuggets.

Michael Malone shared that he was questionable. Murray warmed up with a heavy wrap on his left calf, nursed a calf strain from Game 4. Murray took just 11 pregame jumpers before returning to the locker room. Murray reemerged with the team and mostly walked through the team warmups.

Then, tipoff happened, and Jamal Murray did it. Again.

The Nuggets star guard put up 32 points on 28 shots to go with seven assists. He played over 40 minutes. He hit clutch threes. He even dunked on LeBron James midway through the fourth quarter and flexed on him in a close game.

But none of the shots were more important than the game winner Murray hit with three seconds left, a fallaway jumper after driving to his left that sent the Los Angeles Lakers home for the season.

Murray became the first player in the play-by play era (since the 1997-98 season) to hit two game-winners with under five seconds remaining in a single series, according to the NBA.

The Nuggets won 108-106 tonight in what can only be described as a war of attrition. Murray played through a calf strain. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rolled his ankle early on and was limited to 11 first half minutes. Anthony Davis hurt his shoulder and could barely move his left arm for much of the second half. Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon each played 46 minutes.

The Lakers came to play, giving the Nuggets absolutely everything they could handle. LeBron James was tremendous and finished +3 in his 44 minutes, finishing with 30 points and 11 assists while playing tremendous defense. Davis was great in the first half until he suffered the stinger early in the third quarter. He attempted just one shot in the second half. Other Lakers stepped up for him though with solid minutes being played from Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and even D’Angelo Russell.

But it was the Nuggets who survived, and everyone played a role.

Michael Porter Jr. was tremendous all game, putting up 26 points on 8-of-12 from the field, 5-of-7 from three, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. It was perhaps Porter’s most efficient shooting night in the playoffs of his career, and it came at a time when the Nuggets needed absolutely every basket from him, including a four-point play in the third quarter to tie up the game and give the Nuggets the momentum they needed.

Aaron Gordon had perhaps the biggest rebound of the series, grabbing an offensive board off a Murray miss with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter. Gordon kicked it out to Murray for a three-pointer that put the Nuggets up by two points in the closing minute. Gordon played over 46 minutes tonight and sat for less than a minute in each half. He had seven points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, an underrated stat line that doesn’t begin to encompass his impact.

The Lakers were tough, they made Denver work for everything tonight and during the series.

“Yeah it’s tough man. The whole series, they played great. LeBron is such a beast bro,” Jamal Murray told me postgame. “I don’t know how old he is, but to go play 44 minutes and play really good, that just speaks a lot to his greatness, man. It’s just one of those games where we had to stay locked in. They just make you think so much. Even when you’re winning, or you’re winning games, it’s just still a lot of details that go into it.”

The Lakers lost the series in total by 11 measly points, despite losing the series as a whole 4-1. Sometimes, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, especially when the Nuggets have the best clutch game in the entire NBA.

Now though, the Nuggets will pivot to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which may end up being the toughest series they’ve ever played. As difficult as the Lakers were to put away, the T’Wolves are going to be an absolute pain. Anthony Edwards is balling. Rudy Gobert is defending. Karl-Anthony Towns is back. Oh, and the Nuggets are nursing several injuries.

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