Jamal Murray made another shot.
Because of a flick of a wrist, LeBron James is gone. And he took Anthony Davis with him. The Nuggets vanquished the Lakers, beating them for the 12th time in 13 games to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Denver got the win. Los Angeles got the whine.
No more stamping of feet, throwing arms in the air and begging for calls. The LLLLakers are over. They have morphed into the Dallas Cowboys the past four years, more famous for their brand than their results.
Now we can focus on basketball, not sideshows and news conferences. Before we dive into the Xs and Os of Nuggets vs. T-Wolves, can we savor the latest Oh My!
In Game 2, Murray made a shot. It will forever be immortalized in pictures and portraits as he walked off the Lakers at the buzzer as he lay flat on his back. In Game 5, he made another shot, an eight-footer that left the Lakers with no response.
If it feels like nobody has ever done this, well, that’s because they haven’t. Since play-by-play logs became a thing in the 1997-98 season, Murray is the only player to score a pair of winning shots in the final five seconds of a playoff series.
The juxtaposition remains alarming.
During his eight-year career, Murray has averaged 17.2 points per game, tying his career-high with 21.2 this season. He has never made an All-Star Game, never been named All-NBA. His lone honor is a 2016 rookie of the month for November. His win share numbers are similar to Mario Elie and Pooh Richardson.
But get him to the postseason, and his comps are Allen Iverson, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. It is the most unique thing I have ever witnessed in covering pro sports. During the regular season, he is Ozzie and Harriet. In the playoffs, he’s Ozzy Osbourne.
Feel cheated you never got to see David Thompson dunk, Fat Lever pass or Michael Adams shoot? Murray becomes all three of these players in one in the postseason. He averages 24.7 points, which includes a pair of 50-point games. He eliminated the Lakers with a 32-point performance on a sore left calf that made it difficult for him to jump, other than on his fourth-quarter dunk over James that ended with a mirror-worthy flex.
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Murray is the modern NBA. We demand that our players perform their best when it matters most. This is how we determine legacies and win barstool arguments. No one has a more unique resume than the Nuggets guard. He relishes the idea of playing the same opponent multiple times. It means they know what he is going to do and they still can’t stop him.
So many players talk about wanting the ball as the clock creeps toward its expiration, but then they sneak out a side door. They puff out their chests, then page Dr. Heimlich.
Not Murray. He is built for the moment.
When Murray dribbled the ball near the Nuggets bench with 14 seconds left, there was no need for a timeout. We all knew what was coming. Nikola Jokic executed a swim move worthy of an edge rusher to shed Davis and set a bump screen on Austin Reeves. Reeves was left to chase Murray toward the foul line. Did you really think a guy who looks like Cameron was going to upstage Ferris Bueller? Murray sank the jumper with 3.6 seconds left.
In a satisfied, but not celebratory locker room, I asked Aaron Gordon what goes through his mind when Murray takes a last-second shot?
“Cash,” he said.
Murray is money. None of this is by accident. He is revered by teammates for his work ethic, his slow heartbeat and dispassionate focus. He does everything from meditation breathing to MMA sparring to prepare for those seconds of crisis.
“He is undeniable,” said Peyton Watson.
Watching Murray limp on defense and lose to gravity on jump shots, it felt like there would be no saccharine cliches necessary on this night. But, there is a little hustle to Murray’s game. He can miss badly for long stretches, then his shot becomes smoother than left out butter.
“When he got to that middie, I knew he would make it,” Michael Porter Jr. said.
It is odd, if not completely incongruous.
There are times during the regular season you wonder where he is. His stat line seems like shrugged shoulders. But put Murray in a big spot with time mocking him in the playoffs and he becomes MacGyver, defusing bombs with duct tape, Tic-Tacs and chicken wire.
“He is a tough shot maker. I think he makes more tough shots than easy, open looks,” Jokic said. “He really loves those situations. I am really confident in him.”
Two shots. Same outcome.
Well, this one was a little different.
“I saw this one go in,” Murray said.
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