Jamal Murray is back.
After a lengthy rehab from an ACL injury in 2021 that kept him out of back-to-back postseasons, Murray showed out in the playoffs on Wednesday night.
Murray dropped 40 points and kept the Denver Nuggets ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series at Ball Arena. The 122-113 win gave the Nuggets a 2-0 series lead as it heads to Minneapolis on Friday.
“It took a lot to get back to this point,” an emotional Murray said on TNT. “A lot of doubts, a lot of unknowns, a lot of fears. It was nice to see it through.”
Murray tore his ACL in the final weeks of the 2020-21 regular season, and then missed all of last year recovering from it. He looked back to his old self this season, averaging 20 points and 6.2 assists in 65 games, but it was his performance on Wednesday night that reminded fans of how good Murray can be in the postseason.
Murray, in just his second playoff game since the injury, erupted for 40 points in the win while shooting 13-of-22 from the field and knocking down six 3-pointers. It marked his fifth 40-point playoff game, which is the most in team history.
“He left a piece of him out there tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “For 39 minutes, I thought he was just so impactful across the board. A passionate, heartfelt performance. Just the fact that he missed the last two postseasons, just to have him back and to play at that level … I thought Jamal was terrific.”
Murray and the Nuggets almost blew a 21-point lead on Wednesday night. The Timberwolves put up 40 points in the third quarter, and briefly took the lead again in the fourth. Anthony Edwards dropped 41 points for Minnesota on six 3-pointers, too, and was answering Murray almost at every turn down the stretch.
But it was a late run, fueled by Murray and Michael Porter Jr that kept the Timberwolves at bay and got them the nine-point win.
Nikola Jokic added 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Denver, and Porter Jr. finished with 16 points. Rudy Gobert added 19 points to Edwards’ 41 for Minnesota, and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Though he’s been in the arena all season, the playoff atmosphere clearly hit Murray differently on Wednesday night.
“I’m just trending. I knew it’s gonna be an up and down season for me … I kind of planned for it, but it was nice to settle down,” Murray said on TNT. “It was nice to play my game.”
Game 3 of the series is set for Friday night in Minneapolis.
