Jamal Murray says he was "tested" for various illnesses before Game 6 masterclass

Jamal Murray had his “flu game” Thursday night, as his offensive outburst powered the Denver Nuggets to a 119-106 victory, forcing a Game 7 in their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was listed as questionable due to illness but came out firing.

Murray dropped 11 points in the first quarter and stayed locked in throughout, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He logged a team-high 42 minutes and posted a team-best plus-28 rating.

During the postgame press conference, the Canadian guard said he underwent testing for multiple illnesses but was cleared. He also made it clear he was never going to miss the game.

“I woke up feeling it,” he said. “Went to the clinic, got tested for a couple different things and it was negative, so (I'm) happy about that.

“I was always going to play, in my mind.”

Nikola Jokic put up a monster stat line of 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in just under 41 minutes. Christian Braun also came through with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

For OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 32 points on 11-of-16 shooting, while Chet Holmgren added 19 points and 11 boards. Jalen Williams struggled, scoring just six points on 16 shots, as the team hit only 27.5% from beyond the arc.

Jamal Murray praises Nuggets sophomore Julian Strawther

The Nuggets’ Game 6 win on Thursday was full of storylines. It featured Murray’s flu game, Jokic’s near triple-double and a breakout performance by second-year guard Julian Strawther.

Strawther recorded a playoff career-high 15 points, knocking down three 3-pointers — all of them timely shots that stopped OKC’s momentum in the second half.

Murray said he was thrilled to see his young teammate seize the moment at home.

"Super happy man, because we all know what he's capable of,” Murray said of Strawther’s performance (per Nuggets reporter Ryan Blackburn). “He kinda needs to see the floor, get a rhythm, get some time in, not foul, things like that.

"You can see how he can impact the game real quick in high-pressure moments."

Before Thursday, Strawther had not reached double figures in scoring. He had nine points in Denver’s blowout loss in Game 2 but hadn’t cracked five points in any other game this series.

Game 7 tips off Sunday in Oklahoma City, with the winner moving on to face the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals.