Jamal Murray has returned.
With him Denver nuggets faced a historically difficult and unrecoverable 3-0 hole in the second round against the team Minnesota TimberwolfMurray reminded everyone why he is considered one of the best postseason players in the NBA.
Murray opened Game 3 by scoring 18 points in the first half on 8-for-13 shooting, a huge turnaround from the disappointing two-point total he scored in the first quarters of Games 1 and 2 on 1-for-15 shooting. .
Murray put the surging Timberwolves to bed, ensuring the defending champions wouldn’t be eliminated from the playoffs en route to a 117-90 victory in which they led by as many as 34 points.
For Murray, it was a much-needed strong performance after a pair of uncharacteristic matches in this series.
In Game 1, he scored 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Things got worse in Game 2, when he finished with a dismal eight points on 3-for-18 shooting, with frustration boiling over to to the point where he threw a towel and a heating pad at the referee, leading to him being slapped with a $100,000 fine.
Murray showed a completely different type of focus in Game 3, scoring 24 points on 11-for-21 shooting, while also getting four rebounds and five assists.
There are many outstanding plays.
He made a reverse layup against three defenders. He stole the ball from Anthony Edwards and end up with a paper jam with one hand on the other end. He passed Karl-Anthony Town and swung a backward jump.
While Murray shined in the Nuggets’ first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, including making two game-winning shots, he has struggled massively since then.
His postseason scoring average has plummeted from 26.1 points on 47.3 percent shooting from the field and 39.6 percent from beyond the arc last year, to just 20.4 points on 37 .5% shooting and 28.6% from deep during this stretch.
It was clear that Murray was hampered by a left calf strain. But with four days between games 2 and 3, he regained his rhythm.
Murray is very sharp. He is very aggressive. He is full of energy. In other words, he finally looks like himself in this series.
And that means the Nuggets can’t be counted out.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the tournament for Sports Illustrated, the newspaper Los Angeles Times, Bay Area News Group and San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
Jamal Murray
Denver nuggets
National Basketball Association
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