Jamal Murray says ‘being in LA’ was the reason Nuggets were embarrassed by the Knicks

Jamal Murray says ‘being in LA’ was the reason Nuggets were embarrassed by the Knicks

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said his team wasn’t focused after Denver’s loss to the Knicks, 145-118, at home on Monday.

During his postgame press conference, Murray appeared to suggest that some players were having too much fun after a 127-102 victory over the Lakers on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“It’s a long season. Boys have lives outside of basketball,” Murray said. “We just beat LA in LA. We have some people who live in LA and so they stayed in LA. Like I said, I don’t think the focus was there for everyone, and that’s what happens when you don’t have the focus.

“Like I said, it’s not the coach, it’s not the plays we run, it’s no one other than the guys that are out there on the field. So it’s difficult to go back and watch it or even accept it. But it was to be expected that this is exactly what would happen if the whole team exerted so much energy to start the game and then constantly showed no reaction. We were on the other side. I was on the other side and tonight we were on the wrong end.”

Murray later went back to the part about “some people” and said he also stayed in Los Angeles with the team.

“By the way, we were all in LA! and had a great win,” Murray wrote on X. “Not excluding myself guys, we didn’t play together tonight.”

Before that, the All-Star guard hadn’t posted on X since August.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said his team wasn’t focused after Denver’s loss to the New York Knicks, 145-118, at home on Monday, November 25, 2024. X

Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who dropped an F-bomb and pounded the table in his postgame news conference, said his team was embarrassed by the Knicks.

“Nah, fuck it,” Malone said when asked if Denver would “give up” the game and move on. “We don’t wash dishes. You don’t flush when you’re embarrassed, you don’t flush when you’ve given up 145 points, you don’t flush when you haven’t played hard, when you haven’t played with effort, when you haven’t played with physicality. I don’t rinse anything.”

Nikola Jokic #15 and Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets look on during the game against the New York Knicks on November 25, 2024. NBAE via Getty Images
Jamal Murray #27 of the Denver Nuggets drives to the basket during the game against the New York Knicks on November 25, 2024 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. NBAE via Getty Images

The Knicks’ offense was unstoppable, shooting 60.9 percent from the floor.

Knicks forward OG Anunoby scored a career-high 40 points, while All-Star guard Jalen Brunson had a game-high 17 assists for 23 points.

Brunson was on the rise in the first quarter as he scored nine straight points for New York.

The Nuggets lost at home to a 5-4 record this season.

Denver faces the Jazz in Utah on Wednesday.

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