BBNBA: Jamal Murray drops 30 in the first half; Nuggets take 3-0 series lead

Jamal Murray finished Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on fire and picked up where he left off in Game 3, still ablaze. Just two days after erupting for 23 points in the 4th quarter (and 37 total) to propel the Denver Nuggets to a win, Murray dropped 30 in the first half on Saturday night en route to another Nuggets victory, and a commanding 3-0 series lead.

The Blue Arrow ended up matching his Game 3 point total with 37 points, which included a big 3-pointer in the 4th quarter, part of the 13-0 run that ultimately sealed the win for Denver. He also had seven rebounds and six assists on the evening.

Murray continues to do his best work in the playoffs. He became just the 4th player in NBA history to have at least three 30-point halves in the playoffs. Devin Booker and Allen Iverson have each done it three times as well and Donovan Mitchell has done it four.

In the Western Conference Finals, Murray is averaging 35 points per game on incredible 52/46/93 shooting splits.

After the game, Denver head coach, Mike Malone shared a story from 2021 after Murray tore his ACL:

“His first thought was, ‘Are you guys going to trade me? I’m damaged goods.’ I hugged him and said, ‘Hell no. Your ours. We love you. We’re going to help you get back, and you’re going to be a better player for it.'”

Mike Malone

He was not wrong.

Murray and Nikola Jokic are the most deadly two-man combo in the NBA right now, and when they play off of each other, they are nearly impossible to stop. The Nuggets were +18 when Murray was on the court and +15 with the Joker. No other player was in double digits.

Denver is now just one win away from sweeping the Lakers and earning a spot in the NBA Finals.

Despite a big game from Anthony Davis, Murray was too much for the Lakers to handle

The Lakers briefly took the lead in the 4th quarter after doing a good job of bottling up Jamal Murray in the 3rd quarter. Anthony Davis had a monster game with 28 points, 18 rebounds, and two blocks. He also shot a much-improved 11-18 from the field, but it wasn’t enough to extinguish the red-hot Nuggets.

Jarred Vanderbilt got the start once again for the Lakers but played just 14 minutes and posted a mostly goose-egg stat line with the exception of two points and a solitary rebound. Even Vando, the defensive specialist who contained Steph Curry better than most, couldn’t do much with Murray in the first half.

Wenyen Gabriel remained out of the rotation for the Lakers, even failing to get garbage time in the final minute when the Nuggets held a comfortable double-digit lead.

The series will remain in LA as the Nuggets will vie for a sweep in Game 4 on Monday.

5/18/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	MIN	+/-
Jamal Murray (DEN)	119-108 W vs. LAL	37	15-29 (5-11)	7	6	2	0	1	42	+18
Anthony Davis (LAL)	108-119 W vs. DEN	28	11-18 (0-0)	18	1	0	2	1	42	-12
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	108-119 W vs. DEN	2	1-4 (0-1)	1	0	0	0	0	14	-10
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	108-119 W vs. DEN	DNP-CD

Tonight in the NBA

Eastern Conference Finals
8:30 (TNT): No. 8 Heat (Adebayo, Herro: out) @ No. 2 Celtics | MIA leads 2-0