Tag: jamal murray

Denver Nuggets 2023 NBA championship parade highlights

Denver Nuggets 2023 NBA championship parade highlights:

Denver Nuggets win 2023 NBA championship

Via ESPN.com:

In the biggest game in Denver Nuggets history, veteran DeAndre Jordan had a second-half message for Jamal Murray during a timeout.

“Go win this game,” Jordan was heard saying on the broadcast. “Twelve minutes bro and you in history.

“Immortal.”

Murray, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets heeded the call for history, doing what they have done this entire magical postseason and adapting to any obstacle or defensive wrinkle thrown their way.

After opening Monday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals missing an abysmal 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts, the Nuggets came up with championship-winning plays in the final minutes.

From Jokic’s basket inside with 2:24 left to Bruce Brown’s putback with 1:31 to go, to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s steal off a Jimmy Butler pass with 27.1 seconds left, the Nuggets came up with all the big plays to win their first-ever NBA championship with a hard-fought 94-89 win over the Miami Heat at an overjoyed Ball Arena.

Via ESPN.com:

Nikola Jokic might not have won this third straight Most Valuable Player award this season, but he still ended up with an MVP trophy after all.

In addition to finally getting the championship he has coveted, Jokic was named NBA Finals MVP after the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Miami Heat, 94-89, in Game 5 at Ball Arena.

Jokic closed out Miami with 28 points, 16 rebounds and four assists to help the Nuggets win the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. Like each opponent the Nuggets faced this postseason, the Heat had very little answers for Jokic.

When asked how it feels to be an NBA champion, Jokic told ESPN’s Lisa Salters on the court: “It’s good. It’s good. The job is done, and we can go home now.”

Prior to this championship run, Jokic, 28, was already considered one of the best players of his generation. But now that he has won a championship and a Finals MVP, one NBA Hall of Famer says this catapults the Serbian big man into a different stratosphere.

Heat win Game 2, tie NBA Finals 1-1 with Nuggets

The Heat tied the NBA Finals and had to overcome a monster 41-point effort from Nikola Jokic to do it. Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 21 and Heat beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night. “Our guys are competitors,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They love these kind of moments.” Evidently. They were down by as many as 15 points, down eight going into the fourth, and those numbers signified they were going to lose. Denver was 11-0 in these playoffs when leading by double digits at any point in a game, and 37-1 this season overall when leading by at least eight going into the fourth. – AP via ESPN.com

The Heat went up 11 early and led 26-23 at the end of the opening period. The Nuggets then went up 15 in the second period before the Heat closed within 57-51 at halftime. The Heat tied it 66-66 midway through the third quarter, but the Nuggets closed out the period on a 6-0 run to take an 83-75 lead into the fourth. – Sun Sentinel

A 3-pointer by Vincent with 10:10 to play then gave the Heat their first lead of the second half, at 86-85, as part of a 15-2 Heat run to open the fourth. “They came out in that fourth quarter with a huge sense of desperation, and we didn’t match that,” the Nuggets’ Malone said. The Heat then moved to their 107-95 lead with 3:39 to play on a Caleb Martin 3-pointer, with Denver trimming the deficit to 109-106 with 1:29 left on a basket by former University of Miami wing Bruce Brown. – Sun Sentinel

Just when you think Jimmy Butler is running on fumes, he summons enough to lift his team late. And Bam Adebayo was superb for the second game in a row. That helped offset 41 points by Nikola Jokic. After scoring a personal playoff-low 14 points in Game 1, Butler was again more of a facilitator than scorer through three quarters, missing all four of his shots in the third to go to the fourth with 13 points on 4-for-13 shooting. But after resting for the first four plus minutes of the fourth quarter, Butler delivered three big baskets — a three-pointer, a three-point play on a driving jumper and foul and a jumper. Butler — who closed with 21 points and 9 assists — has shot 41 percent and averaged 23 points in the past 10 playoff games, compared with 32 points on 55 percent in the first nine games. He shot only 7 for 19 but 5 for 5 on free throws Sunday after not getting to the line in Game 1. And Butler leads the NBA — by far — in clutch points during these playoffs, and he keeps coming through when needed. – Miami Herald

Now, while there will be a lot of discussion about Miami‘s shooting and its unsustainability, the Nuggets did not do themselves any favors in Game 2. Denver’s defensive disposition was poor to start the game. If you kept an eye on this space after Game 1, you’ll remember I complimented Miami’s offensive process despite the team only putting up 93 points. The Heat didn’t radically change their attack Sunday, but they did take advantage of all the open looks Denver gave up. For those who had fears about Nikola Jokic’s ability to hold up defensively in the playoffs, Game 2 gave that group some ammunition. Joker’s drop coverage continued to give up good looks. Bam Adebayo had his second straight 20-point game, and was routinely picking apart the Nuggets on the short roll. While Jimmy Butler could not get going with his own offense, he was able to time and time again collapse the Denver defense and find outside shooters. – SI.com

Nikola Jokic named MVP of 2023 NBA Western Conference Finals

Via the Denver Post:

What LeBron can do, Joker can do crazier.

A 38-year-old LeBron James highlighted his 31-point first half Monday with a circus 3-pointer that wasn’t even a shot. It was an attempted pass toward the rim.

So how did Nikola Jokic respond? With a pair of high-arcing, clumsy yet graceful, ugly yet acrobatic 3s with hands in his face throughout the remainder of Game 4. It helped the Nuggets earn their first-ever playoff series sweep and the franchise’s first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.

Jokic, already a two-time league MVP, was named MVP of the Western Conference Finals after Game 4. It was a fitting coronation after Jokic broke Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time record with his eighth triple-double of this postseason: 30 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists.

FULL ARTICLE

The latest on injured Nuggets Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray

The Denver Nuggets haven’t been at full strength this season. Here’s the Denver Post with the latest on a few of their key injured players:

Just like every hopeful Nuggets fan, Will Barton has allowed his mind to wander.

As good as the Nuggets are (25-12 since Jan. 1), Barton knows what the potential returns of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray could mean for the Nuggets during the playoffs.

Six months into the season, depending on their returns, his workload could get significantly lighter. And in turn, the Nuggets could level up from a dangerous postseason matchup to a deep, multifaceted offense.

“Of course,” he told The Denver Post. “You can’t shy away from that.

“Obviously, we’re missing two great players. We’ll welcome them back, but we gotta focus on what’s going on in the present. 
 When we get the word that they’re coming back, we’ll take it from there.”

Porter, it appears, is trending closer to a return than Murray following back surgery on Dec. 1.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray undergoes ACL reconstruction surgery

Jamal Murray has undergone surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute.

Murray will be out for the rest of the season.

This is a major loss for the Nuggets, who are 37-20 this season, good for 4th in the Western conference. After a slow start to the the season, the team has been on a serious roll lately. Losing Murray is brutal.

The team’s leading scorers this season are Nikola Jokic at 26.4 points per game, Murray at 21.2 ppg, Michael Porter Jr. at 17.7 ppg, Will Barton at 12.9 ppg, and new addition Aaron Gordon at 10.7 ppg.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray suffers major injury: torn ACL

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee.

Via the Denver Post:

When Jamal Murray crashed to the floor with less than a minute remaining in Monday’s loss to Golden State, his reaction suggested he knew something devastating had just happened.

Murray suffered a torn left ACL, The Denver Post first reported and was later anounced by the team early Tuesday morning, ending his season and compromising the Nuggets’ title hopes barely a month out from the postseason.

His recovery, according to a league source, is expected to be anywhere from 9 to 12 months.

Not only is Murray’s injury devastating to the Nuggets this season, but his recovery is expected to come near the end of next year’s regular season, when the NBA is back on its normal schedule.

Horrible news.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray fined for hit to Tim Hardaway Jr.

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $25,000 for striking Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the groin area, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Murray received a Flagrant Foul 2 and was ejected, occurred with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter of the Nuggets’ 117-113 victory over the Mavericks on Jan. 25 at American Airlines Center.

Lakers eliminate Nuggets in five games, advance to 2020 NBA Finals

OC Register: “After a jaunt through NBA history, the Denver Nuggets met the one thing they could not overcome: The 35-year-old James in a closeout opportunity, smelling a path to his ninth Finals in 10 years. The star of his era rose to the moment of a Game , nailing four straight shot in the final four minutes to seal in an unforgettable cap to a masterful Game 5 victory, 117-107, that saw him score 38 points, grab 16 rebounds and dish out 10 assists. LeBron James is going to the Finals, and the Lakers are going with him. He choked out the last fight from Denver, which had won six straight elimination games headed into Saturday night. And even as he sat on the court in a near-empty AdventHealth Arena, he started looking ahead. There’s four more wins left to a championship, and if James’ will in a closeout game was any indication, he’s impatient to finish the whole thing.”

OC Register: “The clinching nine-point run was the stuff legendary runs are made of: James hit a stepback, a turnaround fadeaway, a pullup and a 3-pointer in one two-minute sequence to put the Nuggets to bed as the Lakers won the Western Conference Finals, 4-1. It’s the first time the Lakers have been to the Finals in 10 years, the longest drought in franchise history.”

LA Times: ““This is what I came here for,” James said. “I heard all the conversations and everything that was said about why did I decide to come to L.A — the reason I came to L.A., it was not about basketball. All those conversations, just naysayers and things of that nature. I understood that, with the season I had last year and my injury, it just gave them more sticks and more wood to throw in the fire to continue to say the things that they would say about me. “But it never stopped my journey and never stopped my mindset and never stopped my goal.” With a 117-107 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday night, the Lakers eliminated the Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 10 years after six consecutive years of not even making the playoffs.”

LA Times: “[Anthony] Davis scored 27 points including a pair of three-pointers, a block and two steals, earning his first NBA Finals appearance. Heading into the game, the Lakers were 26-1 when they had a double-digit lead at halftime, with their only loss coming to the Clippers. They held a 61-51 lead at the break and increased the margin to 16, but Nuggets forward Jerami Grant scored 14 points in the third quarter, picking up for foul-plagued Nikola Jokic, and Denver tied it at 84.”

Denver Post: “But their storied ride came to an end Saturday night, when the Lakers ousted the Nuggets, 117-107, in Game 5, concluding Denver’s magical run. For weeks, the Nuggets were the talk of the bubble. Their resiliency and toughness, at times, left their coach searching for words. “What more could you ask from a group?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “What more commitment, sacrifice, just everything in the last 82 days that our team has gone through. The history that we’ve made. The adversity that we faced and never ran from, embraced it. 
 From a pride perspective, couldn’t be more proud.” What happened in Orlando won’t soon be forgotten. The six wins in elimination games. Jamal Murray’s scoring spree against Utah, followed by his emotional tribute to Breonna Taylor. Nikola Jokic’s sustained excellence in the face of those elimination games. When the Nuggets land in Denver on Sunday, they’ll still have heavy hearts over a series they felt was closer than the final result.”

Denver Post: “Once again, fouls were a thing in Game 5, with Jokic logging his third with 9:32 left in the second quarter and Gary Harris his third midway through the same period. One of Jokic’s was most certainly questionable — the offensive foul Alex Caruso sold with Oscar-worthy gusto in the paint. But his first was simply a bad decision — intentionally stopping a 3-on-1 L.A. fast break by grabbing a Lakers ballhandler just two minutes into the game. The way the Lakers have targeted Jokic for contact throughout the series, he should’ve just surrendered the fastbreak layup so early in the game rather than pick up a cheap foul. It was a decision that ultimately cost him.”

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has stepped up big in Disney NBA bubble

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has definitely raised his stock at the Disney NBA bubble. Here’s the Denver Post on it:

Murray’s meteoric rise has been the story of the Nuggets’ bubble stay. Whatever inconsistency plagued him during last year’s playoff debut has been ironed out. Through 18 games, Murray’s averaged almost 27 points on over 50% shooting from the field, including over 46% from 3-point range. Murray has been electric, with his playmaking and his passion elevating the Nuggets to only their fourth conference finals in franchise history.

This regular season, Murray averaged 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. In the playoffs, he’s putting up 26.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.