2023-06-10 05:22:00
Renowned above all for his scoring skills and his ability to catch fire once morest any defense, Jamal Murray was limited to 15 points on 17 shots in Game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight. “Really not phew” you will tell us, except that the guy compensated by chaining the caviars without ever losing the ball. Pure playmaking as we like!
“He was a point guard tonight, or rather a Point God.”
This is what Aaron Gordon said following the game last night, he who was full of praise for his playmaker. At the same time he can say thank you because AG – top scorer of the match (27 points) – is one of those who took advantage of Jamal’s many caviars: 12 in total for Murray (career record equaled in the Playoffs), with… zero loss of ball as a bonus.
Jamal Murray (15 PTS, 12 AST) continues shine as a passer as the @nuggets take Game 4!
He’s the 1st player to record 10+ assists in each of his 1st four Finals games ????#NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV
Game 5: Monday, 8:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/CvCTq0FzfR
— NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2023
12 passes pour 0 turnover, it’s quite simply the biggest total of assists without losing a ball in the NBA Finals since Magic Johnson in 1987 (13 caviars, 0 turnover). It’s also the third highest all-time total behind Magic and Robert Reid in the 1986 Finals (17 assists, 0 lost balls). That puts you a man.
Also know that Jamal Murray simply became the first player in history to drop four performances in a row with at least 10 assists for his first four NBA Finals games. 10, 10, 10, so 12 tonight. Not bad for a guy who had only made one game with ten assists in his entire career in the Playoffs before this series once morest Miami.
The Nuggets shot 12-for-19 off passes from Jamal Murray tonight, including 7-for-11 on 3-pointers.
Murray is the 4th player over the last 25 years to assist on 7+ 3-pointers in a Finals game, joining Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/3zqmdsC0aH
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 10, 2023
All that to say that Jamal Murray is growing up before our eyes. So of course, not everything is perfect, Jamal having notably lost seven balloons in Game 3. But this night? He was super clean in the playmaking, which compensated for his difficulties in scoring.
After his 34 points in the previous game, the Heat clearly had the objective of tightening the marking on him. And Erik Spoelstra’s game plan was followed to the letter by his men, the latter not letting go of Murray one step to finally limit him to 15 points at 5/17 shooting. But great players know how to adapt and punish in different ways. Faced with the aggressive defense of Miami, Murray served his friends (Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown …) in the best conditions, they who took advantage of the attention given to Jamal to rush into space and punish the Heat. And then when it was necessary to plant an important shot in the fourth quarter while Nikola Jokic was hampered by fouls and Miami was trying to comeback, Murray made Murray.
Jamal Murray from DEEP ????
Nuggets lead by 8 with 6:55 to go in Game 4 on ABC… they seek a 3-1 lead with a win tonight!#NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV pic.twitter.com/MBqQyuGHHj
— NBA (@NBA) June 10, 2023
It was precisely during this streak without Jokic that Nuggets coach Michael Malone was most impressed by Jamal Murray.
“One of the best stats of the night was Jamal Murray finishing with 12 assists for zero turnover in a game where he was blitzed by the defense and had multiple players on him. […] During the duel, he always made the right choice, he never got tired, he never said to himself, ‘I have to save or carry the team’. He read the defense and trusted his teammates, it’s a very important aspect of our culture.
Patience, serenity, distribution… who said Jamal Murray was just a scorer?
The leader proves on these NBA Finals that he can play like a leader if necessary, and not only in relation to Nikola Jokic. He allowed the Nuggets to manage the minutes without the Joker very well in the fourth quarter and that is one of the main reasons why Denver now leads 3-1 in the series once morest Miami.
Author of a magnificent Playoffs campaign, Murray has taken on a new dimension and now only needs one victory to crown it with an NBA title. And to think that a few months ago, he was just coming back from a big knee injury…
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#Jamal #Murray #fashion #Point #God
