What can you do when you drag a wounded leg to the court and face the opponent who is going all out to fight to the end?
Cut the throat and send the opponent home. This is jamal -Murray's answer.
Nuggets and Lakers In the fifth game of the series, 3.6 seconds before the end, Murray shook off Reeves' defense and made a quick stop jump shot. The ball was flying in the air, and the memory flashed back to the moment when Murray won the final victory in the second game. This time, will he be able to hit a deadly blow?
The ball went through the net, and Murray once again broke the Lakers' hope of winning. At the moment when the victory was decided by one shot, Murray was the ruthless assassin.
For the second year in a row, the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers, and Murray played the killer of the Lakers again. What he ended was not only the playoff trip of the Lakers, but also the basketball era of Janduku. Murray, who came out of a serious injury, was like a phone booth that turned Clark Kent into a superman in the playoffs. Murray never entered the All Star in the regular season, but in the playoffs, he was a star among stars.
"I like big scenes and winning," Murray said.
Painful tears
April 12, 2021 is an unforgettable day for Murray. With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets Warriors' first battle, Murray dribbled the ball and made a breakthrough. When his left leg kicked the ground, his knee twisted unnaturally. Murray fell out of the bottom line and felt intense pain. His left hand covered his left knee, his right hand slapped the floor, and his body curled up.
The team doctor knew at a glance that it was not a good thing. His knee collapsed inwards, which was obviously a serious injury. Soon, the examination results came out, and the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee was torn.
Although the development of sports medicine today has made great progress in the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament tears, this injury can still ruin an athlete's career. Derek Ross was knocked down by the tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, and he never "caught up" with himself before the injury.
The day after the knee injury was diagnosed, Murray went to the team bus and sat in the coach Mike- Malone Nearby, as the bus rumbled to the airport, Murray asked with tears in his eyes: "Do the team want to trade me?"
Malone told Murray: "No, you are the future of the team."
Murray later recalled the fragile moment and said frankly that being abandoned by the team was just one of his worries. He had too many questions in his mind. When can he return, can he play like before, and can he still deserve the salary given by the team?
Before getting the answers to these questions, Murray first needs to learn to walk again. He can't even lift his leg for a while after the operation. Because he can't get exercise for a long time, the injured left leg muscles are severely atrophied. When it is not easy to resume physical training, the left leg can't provide support at all. It's hard to climb stairs. Those days were like being in a dark tunnel, There is no end in sight.
The bigger challenge comes from the psychological level. Murray has grown into a playoff player before he was injured. He scored 40+points in four playoffs in 2020, two of which were 50+ Jokic We led the team to the West Finals together. Although we lost to the Lakers, the West Finals are coming. Will the finals be far behind?
Murray's injury suspension has made Denver's path to the finals a long one. Despite Jokic's two consecutive regular season MVPs, Denver is difficult to go further in the playoffs. The American basketball media commented that Denver lost Murray. Playing in the playoffs is like taking a dagger to participate in a gun fight. How can it go to the championship?
After 18 months of recovery, Murray finally came back when playing against the Jazz in the opening game of the 2022-23 season. He played for 26 minutes and scored 12 points from 5 of 13 shots. Denver Nuggets lost by 21 points. This game was the first time Murray felt strange to the game since he played basketball at the age of 3.
"The scene of knee injury still troubled me. I didn't dare to break through, even jumped up in fear. I didn't find myself," Murray said.
When Murray was troubled by the downturn after his comeback, Jokic found him. They had been teammates before they entered the NBA. At the 2014 Nike Basketball Summit, Murray from Canada and Jokic from Serbia jointly represented the international team. Jokic did not speak English at that time, but they began to cooperate with Murray, laying the seeds for future cooperation. Murray is Jokic's team mate who has worked with Denver for the longest time. Teacher Jokic realized the frustration of the old partner and decided to talk to him.
"He told me not to worry, it will be slow at the beginning, but I can definitely recover to the previous level, or even better." Murray recalled the conversation with Jokic.
Higher peaks
On June 12, 2023, the fifth game of the finals, with the final whistle blowing, the home stadium of Denver Nuggets Boer Stadium became a sea of celebration. Denver Nuggets beat the Heat 4-1 overall to win the team's first championship. When Murray was celebrating with his teammates, Jokic patted Murray on the shoulder and motioned to go somewhere with him.
The two men came to the pool where the team usually did physiotherapy. Jokic held Murray and threw him into the water. Murray had practiced martial arts when he was a child. Although his weight was far less than that of teacher Yue, his footplate was very stable, and he insisted for a while. Gonzalez, the equipment manager of Nuggets, came forward to help, but Jokic and Murray fell into the water together.
The Nuggets' dual core just took the champagne and soaked in the pool to enjoy the hard won success.
It's really difficult along the way. In the 20th game after Murray came back in 2022-23 season, Nuggets encountered a lone ranger. Murray made only 2 of 11 shots and lost 5 of his 3-pointers. When the Nuggets lost the game, Murray sent a message to coach Malone after the game.
"I feel like an energy vampire, dragging my teammates behind. I can't go on like this, so I sent a message to the coach to assure him that I will play better," said Murray.
Two days later, Murray's situation against the Blazers seemed to be still bad. He made 3 of 10 shots in the first three quarters, and made 0 of 5 3-pointers. The Nuggets were 10 points behind at the end of the first three quarters. Coach Malone walked up to Murray with a tactical board and said in a relaxed voice: "The fourth quarter is up to you. Take us to win. You can do it."
In the fourth quarter, Murray didn't stop for a second. He scored 14 points in a single quarter and led the Nuggets to catch up. Nine seconds before the end, Lillard scored three points, and the Blazers had a two point lead. Coach Malone called a pause, and he pointed to Murray. The kill tactic was simple and clear: "Give him the ball."
Murray took the ball, and the pioneer forward Jeremy Grant followed closely. Murray turned away from the position on the left near the sideline to create a shooting space, and pulled up the three-point shot to win.
This winning goal is a milestone after Murray's comeback. His explosive power has indeed declined irreversibly due to his knee injury, but his skill packs such as holding the ball, throwing and playing pick and roll can still provide the Nuggets with the hard solution they need to win the championship.
"I told Jamal to believe in the process and he will play better and better. This game is a big step forward," said coach Malone.
Murray, who finally got rid of the shadow of knee injury, entered the playoffs with a better attitude. After defeating the Timberwolves and Suns successively, he met the Lakers again in the West Duel. Murray averaged 32.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.8 steals in this series of games. His shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage and free throw percentage reached 53%, 40.5% and 95% respectively His efficiency slams the Lakers.
In the fourth quarter of the first game of the western match, Murray met LeBron James through pick and roll. He broke through the emergency stop, dribbled behind the back, stepped on the three-point line, and forced to pull out the middle shot to meet James' interference. Zhan reluctantly gave Murray a thumbs up. The defense of this ball was no problem, but Murray still made the shot. His offensive ability became a powerful weapon in the Denver Nuggets NBA.
Therefore, when Murray scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the third game of the NBA Finals against the Heat, and Jokic, who scored 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, they became the first two person team in NBA history (regular season+playoffs) to score 30+triple doubles in the same game. The media and fans were not surprised. They were all players of the type of "the bigger the scene, the stronger I am", and it was a process to advance to the championship, Coronation is a natural result.
On the night of winning the championship, Murray sat in front of the locker, holding the championship trophy tightly, and did not let go for a long time. He averaged 21 points and 10 assists in the middle of the series against the Heat, becoming the fourth player in NBA history who averaged 20+10 points and assists in the finals. The other three were "Magic" Johnson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. From the dark injury period, When we arrived at the starry night of the championship, we had mixed feelings at that moment.
"I once climbed a peak, but then fell to the bottom. Now I have come to the higher mountain. I have walked this road for a long time, and I am glad I have persevered," said Murray.
Jamal in the playoffs
Murray saw the information pushed by his mobile phone and heard the discussion of his teammates, but he did not participate in it and still went to the field to warm up according to his old habit. At the last link of shooting training, Murray set a challenge for himself. When he made a shot behind the backboard, the ball had to cross the backboard and fall into the net. Sometimes Murray tried once and succeeded. Sometimes it took more than 10 minutes to hit. No matter how long it took, Murray had to complete this process and practice various difficult jump shots into muscle memory, which was his job.
When Murray returned to the locker room, the mobile phone information was still emerging, all about the discussion of the 2024 all-star replacement team. Murray was not selected. Since he entered the league in 2016, there has been no all-star team or the best team of the season.
There are many reasons for this, such as injury, talent in the western backcourt, and Murray's special game mode. Coach Malone likes to call him "Jamal in the playoffs", because Murray is a completely different player in the regular season and the playoffs, with an average of 17.5 points in the regular season of the NBA career and 24.8 points in the playoffs.
"Of course I want to be an All Star, but I think it is more important to win in the playoffs. If the team needs an All Star in the playoffs, I can be that person," said Murray.
When the Nuggets met the Lakers again in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, Murray pressed the button to switch to "playoff Jamal". In the second game of the series, Murray felt bad. He missed 13 shots in the first 16 shots, and the Nuggets were 20 points behind at most. But every time he paused, his teammates told him the same thing: continue shooting.
In the third quarter, Murray was depressed when he paused because he missed a shot, so substitute point guard Gillespie ran to Murray and sat down next to him, giving him an incentive that proved to be quite predictable.
"Jamal, trust me, you will score the winning goal."
Murray felt that Gillespie was joking with him. His idea was to give his teammates the chance to shoot. He tried to influence the game with passing and defense, but this suggestion was rejected as soon as it was exported.
"They all said no and told me that I needed to shoot to keep me aggressive," Murray said.
This is what makes Nuggets special. They have enough offensive and defensive power to "slow down the fire" with their opponents. Even if they are 20 points behind, they can slowly erase it. Then, when the stars are in the moment of "big fire", Murray is doing this. He took over the game in the fourth quarter and scored 14 points in 6 of 8 in a single quarter.
At the last moment of the game, the two teams tied 99-99, and Jokic signaled not to call a pause. Because he didn't want to give the Lakers time to defend, Murray understood. He used Jokic's cover to form a one-on-one fight with thick eyebrows, and rushed to the bottom line to stop and lean back to finish the attack.
The bushy eyebrow jumped up and blocked Murray's sight. Murray only saw the ball flying to the basket, and then he fell to the floor. When the whole audience began to cheer, Murray was not sure whether the ball had entered.
"I jumped very high, or leaned back, I saw the ball flew past, my vision was blocked, did not see the ball into the basket, when I heard everyone screaming, I guess it was in." Murray said.
Compared with a year ago, it was more difficult to play against the Lakers this time. Reeves gave Murray enough physical confrontation, and Murray also suffered injuries. He strained his left calf in Game 4. Before Game 5, he had been receiving treatment. When warming up, he was tied with thick protective gear, and returned to the locker room after only 11 shots.
The Nuggets management was worried that Murray's injury would worsen if he came on, and decided not to let him take risks, but Murray refused the team's proposal.
"They said don't play and have a rest. I said no, I can't throw my teammates on the court. We have been working together," Murray said.
Murray, who injured a leg, played for 41 minutes in the 16 times of alternating lead and 10 times of equalizing, scored 32 points, scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, split on James' head, and shot a long shot against the super score, and then hit the mid shot that pierced the "heart" of the Lakers.
With two winning shots in five games, Jamal is still the same in the playoffs, but these are just the beginning for Murray and Denver. The first round battle is settled, and a new battle is coming. The Timberwolves, who swept the Suns, are waiting for them in the western semi-finals.
"We know what the ultimate goal is, and we have to look forward," Murray said.
