Jamal Murray was not able to fully enjoy the Nuggets' victory against the Rockets on Wednesday evening for his return to play after more than three weeks of absence. Completely recovered from his hamstring injury, the Denver leader this time twisted his right ankle after only two minutes of play!
In the fight with Jalen Green inside, he got a nice twist and a nice scare before finally coming back into play, to compile 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 22 minutes.
After the meeting, Jamal Murray said he was concerned about this new twist of fate.
” It's frustrating. It's just frustrating. I'm happy we won. It's a great team victory. Everyone played well. We're just getting ready for what's next.”, did he declare. “I wouldn't have come back if I hadn't felt comfortable. Hamstrings are fine. I worked hard enough to restore it. Now that's another thing. I’ll have to work on it, hopefully I can be ready for what’s next.”
Two big tests to come outside in “back-to-back”
The leader wanted to be reassuring by stating several times that he felt good: “I don’t think it matters right now. To be honest with you, I'm glad I won. I'm doing well. It’s a small setback, but we’ll be back soon.”
The positive point of his return is that the collective was at full speed with 8 players who finished the match with 7 points or more on the clock, including Michael Porter Jr. in X factor with his 30 points at 7/ 12 by far. But Jamal Murray is already planning ahead with two upcoming test-like trips this weekend, to Phoenix then Sacramento, in a “back-to-back” fashion.
“We play selflessly, especially at home. We have to manage to transpose that outside, share the ball, have confidence in each other”he continued. “We play more freely, and the game is freer too. Our challenge is to do the same outside, in a hostile environment, and not to lose confidence. Teams will make streaks in the match, but it also happens at home. It’s the same thing, we just need to be more focused and do our job when the environment is against us.”
To see if the Nuggets will be able to count on a 100% Jamal Murray for this “road trip” which will then continue on the Clippers floor on Wednesday evening.
| Jamal Murray | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | DEN | 82 | 22 | 40.4 | 33.4 | 88.3 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 9.9 |
| 2017-18 | DEN | 81 | 32 | 45.1 | 37.8 | 90.5 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 16.7 |
| 2018-19 | DEN | 75 | 33 | 43.7 | 36.7 | 84.8 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 18.2 |
| 2019-20 | DEN | 59 | 32 | 45.6 | 34.6 | 88.1 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 18.5 |
| 2020-21 | DEN | 48 | 36 | 47.7 | 40.8 | 86.9 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 21.2 |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 65 | 33 | 45.4 | 39.8 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 20.0 |
| 2023-24 | DEN | 8 | 30 | 41.4 | 42.5 | 87.5 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 16.3 |
| Total | 418 | 31 | 44.7 | 37.4 | 87.0 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 16.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
