DENVER, Apr. 30 (U.S.): Jamal Murray kept begging the crowd to get louder with every ride on the ground.
As if the Nuggets point guards need that. His play was already shaking the arena.
Murray scored 34 points, hitting 6 of Denver’s 16 three-pointers, and the Nuggets cruised past the Phoenix Suns 125-107 Saturday night in Game 1 of the second-round series, the Associated Press reported.
“He’s a bad guy,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Any response to this adulation? “Thanks?” Murray said. “I appreciate it… I’m just playing my game… I do whatever it takes to win.”
And maybe show a nation that can’t always watch the Nuggets you know, because they’re usually way behind what players know all season: They’re gifted and deserving of the top seed in the Western Conference. They don’t mind if the Suns, as the fourth seed, are the trendy pick to beat them either.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, and we’re going to keep proving everybody wrong,” Murray said.
NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 24 points and 19 rebounds, while Aaron Gordon finished with 23. But that was Murray’s show, going 6 of 10 from 3-point land and often inducing more noise from the already rowdy crowd.
“Let’s be honest, some of the shots he took tonight I don’t think anyone could have stopped him,” said Suns coach Monty Williams.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and grabbed 14 boards for the Suns, with Devin Booker adding 27 and Chris Paul 11. Booker averaged 37.2 points in the first round win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I thought they were more physical, and played more aggressively,” Williams said. “We have to regroup and do a much better job of playing with speed in attack.” Game 2 Monday night in Denver.
This is a different kind of playoff series than it was two years ago, when the Suns swept the Nuggets in the second round. At the time, Denver was without Murray after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
Now healthy, Murray’s 2020 form is flashing inside the NBA bubble that helped Denver advance to the Western Conference Finals.
“Jamal only continues to add to the legend of Jamal’s match,” Malone said.
Murray had played the night when he stole a pass, split defenders Paul and Durant at full speed and volleyed high through the glass. Ability brought the crowd to its feet.
Far from energizing the fans, the dynamic base hit a three-pointer with just under 7 minutes remaining. He implored them more noise, even holding his hand to his ear.
Leading 106-95 with 7:40 left, the Nuggets went on a 14-0 run to put away the game. Denver led by as many as 25 points and improved to 38-7 at home through the regular season and playoffs.
Durant cut back to ask if he was surprised by the Nuggets. Because it is not. “They’re the top seed for a reason. They’ve been MVP twice. They have a deep squad. I’m not surprised,” said Durant. “We have our work cut out for us.”
The difference was the 3-point streak, as the Nuggets outscored the Suns by a margin of 48-21. This and turnovers, as the Suns had 16, including seven by Durant.
“I have to be more careful with the ball,” Durant said. “I have to look to either hit the ball or make the right pass. … I’ve got about half our turnover. We’ll be fine. I think we just have to play with confidence, shoot with confidence, and see what happens in the next game.”
Tip-ins
Suns: Williams used his challenge early with 55.4 seconds left in the first quarter when Booker was called for charging a made basket. It paid off when the call was overturned and Booker was awarded a free throw, which he did. … Deandre Ayton scored 14 points. … Durant has 4,730 playoff points to move closer to passing Karl Malone (4,761) for seventh place on the NBA’s postseason points leaderboard.
Nuggets: Malone called a 32-second timeout in the second half to calm his team down. Malone said the conversation was simple, and he narrated “Wake Up”. … Bruce Brown got 14 points.
Paul Breeze
As Paul approaches his 38th birthday next week, Malone said the one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is Paul’s elite competitiveness.
“He’ll be 55, he’ll play in a running back league in North Carolina, he’ll be the same guy,” Malone said. “The guy hates losing, he’s very competitive and one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever had… No matter what stage of his career he’s at, he still finds a way to influence winning at a high level.”
Rial