Jamal Murray plays defense for the Denver Nuggets | Denver Nuggets
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Jamal Murray plays defense for the Denver Nuggets | Denver Nuggets

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Jamal Murray took a step to change the conversation in NBA quarters in the crucial moments of Tuesday’s win over the Warriors.

Shortly after Murray returned to the court with the Nuggets trailing in the final six minutes, Golden State began chasing him. Murray initially played alongside Andrew Wiggins, but the Warriors often used Wiggins as a backup to Stephen Curry, who was guarded by Christian Braun, in hopes of turning Murray into one of the game’s most dangerous scorers.

“Steph, man, you can defend him, play good defense. He passes, and then you have to go after him wherever he goes,” Murray said after helping the Nuggets to a 119-115 victory.

“Then you have to talk if you want to change. I think that’s the hard part. If he gives up, everyone needs to know where he will be.”

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The first sequence in which Golden State targeted Murray ended with Michael Porter Jr. switching to Curry. That led to a missed floater by Moses Moody, which Murray picked up after transition.

A few minutes later, Murray ended up on an island with Curry, who began moving left before slipping the ball behind his back for a step-back 3. Murray’s competition forced Curry to shoot just wide.

Golden State’s next downfall ended with Curry hitting a fadeaway jump shot despite solid defense from Murray.

“Take it personally,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone summed up his message to Murray when teams go against him defensively. “They call you for a reason and prove to them that you’re not that guy because in this league the streets talk. If you’re this type, you’ll get calls every night. So sit down and guard, and I thought Jamal had some really good possessions toward the end of the game when they did that.”

The trend continued as the Nuggets trailed by four players heading into the final two minutes, and Murray took another step toward changing the narrative. Once again, Murray faced Curry in isolation and directed the Warriors guard to his aid. When Curry gave up the ball, Murray left his man standing and eventually blocked Jonathan Kuminga’s dunk attempt. It was Murray’s third block of the game.

“I kind of had momentum going down there with Steph. I slipped, slipped. Whoever was down there stepped forward. It was a good pass and I was already moving,” Murray said. “I timed it, got it, and we went the other way.”

After grabbing the defensive rebound, Murray got out in transition, converted Kevon Looney’s sixth foul and hit a pair of free throws to bring the Nuggets within two points with 1:48 left. Those were the last two of his 12 points for the night, on as many shots.

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“Jamal just has to stick with it. He didn’t shoot the ball well tonight, (but he had) eight assists, one turnover,” Malone said.

“Just because you don’t shoot the ball well, you can still do other things to help your team win. The plays that Jamal made, the ones Russ (Westbrook), that CB (Braun), that loose ball he came up with, those are winning plays at the end of a close game that’s on the line. I’m proud of our guys for making all those winning plays across the board.”

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Murray again disrupted a Curry attack on a possession that ended with Gary Payton II missing a three-pointer in the final 10 seconds of the shot clock.

Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, equalized the game.

Then Golden State changed its plan of attack. With just over a minute left, Payton, guarded by Jokic, shielded Murray. The NBA’s career three-point leader looked good, but missed again.

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Murray capped his impressive defensive performance by helping the Nuggets secure a two-point lead in the final 30 seconds. After Wiggins fell to the ground, Murray quickly got involved and ripped the ball free.

Jokic made the most of the extra possession by sinking two free throws, making it a four-point game with 14 seconds left.

Another stop by the Nuggets sealed the deal.

“Defense, defense, defense, we just communicated. We locked up. We covered for each other. I thought the one-on-one defense was great at the end. We have stops,” Murray said.

“We’re going to make missed throws and make shots. We know that. I know that, but the defense… you can always win a game like that.”

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