Denver Nuggets talisman Nikola Jokic showered praise on Jamal Murray after they bested the Los Angeles Lakers by 108-103 in the second game of the Western Conference finals on Thursday. Murray scored 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as he played at his best.
The Nuggets took the final frame by 32-24 and Murray’s performance was the difference between the two teams.
“He was special,” Jokic said. “He won us the game basically.”
In fact, Murray missed 12 of his 17 shots in the first three quarters but backed himself to deliver in the final quarter. The Canadian scored four three-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Lakers had no answers to his onslaught.
Lakers veteran LeBron James also credited Murray for playing a key role in Nuggets’ win.
“He made shots at the end of the clock,” LeBron James lamented. “We guard for 24 seconds and he made two big-time shots, one over (Anthony Davis) and one over me. He had his 3-point shot going in the fourth. It’s no surprise to me, he’s done it before. Sometimes it’s a never-miss league.”
In fact, the Nuggets could only manage seven three-pointers in the first three quarters but they scored as many in the final 12 minutes of the game.
“It would have been a lot easier if I had made them in the first half,” said Murray.
Jokic added 23 points, 17 rebounds, and a dozen assists and he once again played a key role in the team’s win after his dazzling performance in the opener.
Meanwhile, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was miffed after the Lakers got all the attention from the media despite losing the opening game of the series.
“You win Game 1 and all everybody talked about was the Lakers,” Malone said. “Let’s be honest, the national narrative was, ‘Hey, the Lakers are fine. They’re down 1-0, but they figured something out.’ No one talked about how Nikola just had an historic performance. He’s got 13 (playoff) triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible.
“But their narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets. The narrative wasn’t about Nikola. The narrative was about the Lakers and their adjustments. So you know, you put that in your pipe and you smoke it, you come back and you know what, we’re gonna go up 2-0.”
The third game of the series will be played on Saturday night.
