Denver has a pretty good idea of what to do in big moments: Give the ball to one of Nikola Jokic or Jamal Murray, let them do something in their two-man game, and watch them work. On Saturday night against the Phoenix Suns, Murray got the call to be the one to come up big, and boy, did he answer.
The Nuggets found themselves down 98-95 on the game’s final possession. Jokic had the ball at the top of the key, got it to Murray, and the high-scoring guard managed to get the switch he wanted, as Suns big man Deandre Ayton tried to check him. Ayton did a pretty decent job for the most part, but Murray was able to create just enough space right before the final buzzer to rise and fire.
Despite the fact that there was some contact and Ayton, candidly, was pretty fortunate to avoid a foul call, Murray was able to get a shot away from deep and converted to force an extra period.
absolute silliness from jamal murray to send this thing into oh tea pic.twitter.com/ZVRsX4KBAi
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) January 24, 2021
Murray had 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting before he pulled up here, and let’s be clear: If the official wanted, they probably could have gotten away with calling a foul and giving Murray a chance to win the game at the free throw line. Regardless, Murray established a bit of a reputation in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for his ability to come up big in huge moments, and with this shot, he again showed that he has quite the flair for the dramatic.
