Jamal Murray’s return from the shelf was a soothing reminder to the Nuggets: Even if he is struggling, their starting lineup is better off with him in it.
Murray scored 28 points after missing the last three games with a concussion, and Denver’s top unit played some of its crispest offensive basketball of the season in a 135-122 win over the Heat on Friday, even with Aaron Gordon out.
“It’s a win, and to get any win in this league is hard, so I’m definitely happy that we won. … But right now, we’re winning with our offense,” coach Michael Malone said. “And at some point, that’s gonna stop. Our defense must improve. To give up 122 points, 20 made 3s … I just don’t like where our defense is at right now. Too many breakdowns. Not communicating. Not disciplined.”
Nikola Jokic took only 27 minutes to earn his fifth triple-double in nine games, finishing the night with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists on 11 of 13 shooting. Christian Braun continued his red-hot adjustment period with the starting lineup by making his first six shots of the night for 19 points before the perfect game ended. Michael Porter Jr. matched him with 21 points. And Murray worked around a few sloppy turnovers to make four 3-pointers, grab four rebounds and add six assists in his impressive return.
“I was just telling him in the locker room, I think an aggressive Jamal Murray is an effective Jamal Murray,” Malone said.
“I think guys are just dialed in,” Murray said. “I think everybody’s starting to find a little rhythm. Get more comfortable. Less nerves.”
The Nuggets (6-3) have won six of their last seven games after losing the first two of the season.
It didn’t matter that Miami shot 20 of 43 from 3-point range, or that a 26-point lead got whittled to 14 by the end of the third quarter even with Jokic on the floor. Denver’s starting lineup made offense look easy for extended stretches: a 40-point first quarter and a 15-4 run in the first three minutes of the second half. Scoring was balanced. Even Peyton Watson, filling in for an injured Gordon, amassed 16 points.
“We don’t have communication at times,” Malone said. “Sometimes we fo have communication, but something that we always talk about — my wife tells me this all the time — part of communicating is listening.”
After Miami put pressure on the Nuggets to protect a somewhat precarious lead without Jokic in the fourth quarter, the 10-year coach got as experimental as he’s been all season. Jokic’s rest minutes had been a disaster in the first half — a quick 10-0 Heat run in three minutes and change. So Malone tried a new variation of the second unit.
Instead of Zeke Nnaji at center, nobody played center.
The lineup featured Murray, Porter, Watson, Julian Strawther and Russell Westbrook. If anyone qualified as the five, it was technically Watson, according to Malone, though Westbrook checked in and guarded Bam Adebayo at the defensive end.
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Malone stuck with the unorthodox quintet for a stretch of 4:45. It tied the minutes, 12-12.
“It was something we had talked about; I had thought about this offseason,” Malone said. “Peyton’s versatility is something we always mention regarding his value. And both offensively and defensively, I think you can use him a lot of ways. … He can screen. He can roll. … If I’m Peyton Watson, I’m saying, ‘Coach, I can play three, four and five. Whatever you need from me.’”
Heat forward Jimmy Butler limped off the floor six minutes into the game and was quickly ruled out with a right ankle sprain. Watson guarded him with tenacity before the injury, another brief glimpse of the rising defensive prowess of Denver’s 2022 draft duo, Braun and Watson.
Tyler Herro led Miami with 24 points. Adebayo added 20. The Heat, never a team that gives up, made a late push to get the margin as close as seven, but Jokic buried a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back to 13 with 90 seconds left. It also pushed him over the 30-point threshold for the third time this season. The triple-double was the 135th of his career.
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