Jamal Murray topped 30 points for the first time this season as the Denver Nuggets cruised past the Detroit Pistons 134-121 on Saturday.

Murray finished the game with 34 points on 12 of 21 shooting, drained four three-pointers and six free throws and added five rebounds and five assists. In his 24th game of the season, it was Murray’s most successful goal to date.

In his eighth season, Murray typically starts slower before really taking off in December. That’s been the case this year, where the Blue Arrow has found its breakthrough since a great fourth quarter against the Kings about two weeks ago. But it’s been a lot of hard sledding, and because the Nuggets came up short last summer, coupled with Murray’s struggles in the Olympics, a lot of people have panicked about the guard’s play. All of this is in contrast to the huge contract extension he signed on the eve of the season.

“I know Jamal is being pushed really hard by everyone at the moment. That’s not going to do him any favors, man,” Michael Malone said after the game. “The guy cares. He wants to play better. He wants to help this team. His heart is in the right place. Supporting him will make a big difference. That’s why I tell the boys, ‘Don’t look at the damn phone.’ I don’t give a damn what you say about me, and neither should he.”

Murray’s evening on Saturday went as it often does – as a great sidekick to Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP scored a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Meanwhile, Denver’s offense stayed hot, scoring over 130 points on consecutive nights, thanks in part to Michael Porter Jr., who drained five three-pointers en route to 26 points. The 97 points the trio scored together are the most they have ever achieved.

“We haven’t been great, but everyone is finally starting to click. “Everyone’s starting to feel better,” Murray said after the win. “I wouldn’t say that’s not just me, I don’t, yeah, I would like to record every night, man, I try to record every night, but I can still try that Influence the game without taking shots. And I say that, and I try to be proud of it. So if you know people are going to talk about me not recording, so be it, I know what I’m capable of, I know what I’m doing. And there’s a reason I’m here and there’s a reason I was able to win with this team and be here for years and develop the chemistry and all that. So, you know, I just let people talk. That’s what they do. That’s why the people are over there and I’m here.”

The Nuggets are now 17-13, splitting a meeting in which they lost to the NBA’s best Cavs on Friday because of terrible defense. Denver has an off day after five games in seven nights and then travels to Utah to face the Jazz and close out 2024.