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Jamal Murray produced one of his best playoff games against the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA playoffs Western Conference semis. He dropped 34 points, five rebounds and nine assists, making six triples to lead the Nuggets to a 125-107 blowout win over the Suns.
Murray hasn't looked better than he did during Saturday's contest since returning from a year-and-a-half-long absence due to injury. Before the injury, Murray was in the form of his life, coming off a stellar playoff campaign in the "Orlando Bubble."
The Nuggets' point guard averaged a team-high 26.5 points and 6.6 assists per game, shooting on 51/45/90 splits and leading his team to a conference finals berth. Denver came back from a 3-1 deficit twice that year in their first-round win against the Utah Jazz and a conference semis win against the LA Clippers. Murray also had two 50-point outings in that postseason run.
However, critics believe Murray thrived in that environment, as he got the chance to play without fans. Many have discredited the top performers from that playoff run due to the unusual circumstances players were put into.
TNT's former player-turned-analyst Kenny Smith asked Murray after Saturday's Game 1 clash if his performance was similar to "Bubble Murray" or "Healthy Murray" to which the player responded (via NBA on TNT):
"I'd say it's healthy Murray. I don't how many times I gotta prove myself for y'all to believe in my game."
Jamal Murray has quashed the "Bubble Murray" allegations this season. He was crucial in helping the Denver Nuggets secure the #1 seed in the Western Conference.
Jamal Murray also emerged as their leading scorer across six playoff games, averaging 28.3 points per game, shooting on 48/46/91 splits.
Denver Nuggets could be unplayable with Jamal Murray firing on all cylinders
The Denver Nuggets are arguably the most complete team in the NBA. They're well-coached, well-balanced and have tremendous depth in their roster. Another factor that bodes well for them is having two alphas who work well in tandem.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have struck an excellent partnership following the latter's return, and the two are thriving as a one-two punch. Jokic has been more than willing to let Murray take over games with his scoring, especially in the playoffs.
This puts tremendous pressure on the opposition's defense, often leaving one of these stars with easy opportunities to score.
The Nuggets also have reliable contributors like Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which limits opponents from deploying double-teams against the stars, who're willing passers.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
