The Denver Nuggets are hosting the Boston Celtics at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday night for a marquee showdown. However, Denver got some concerning news in the first half, with star point guard Jamal Murray leaving the game because of an illness.
“Jamal Murray is questionable to return with an illness,” Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette reported via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
Early in the third quarter, Murray has been ruled out for the remainder of the game, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
Before he exited the game, the former Kentucky Wildcats star point guard had two points on 1-for-3 shooting from the field and an assist in only eight minutes of action.
Murray was deemed probable to play for this Nuggets matchup against Jaylen Brown and company, but for a hamstring issue. He was ultimately given the green light to see action, but apparently was not able to play a lot before an illness took him out of the contest.
In any case, his status is worth monitoring, with Denver's backcourt already missing Jalen Pickett, who's out with a knee injury.
The 29-year-old Murray has been solid since the resumption of action in the regular season following the NBA All-Star break. In the three games heading into the meeting with Boston, Murray averaged 22.0 points on a 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 39.1 percent from behind the arc, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Bruce Brown and Christian Braun will mostly cover the void left in the backcourt by Murray, while Nikola Jokic gets a bigger responsibility in running the show for the Nuggets' offense.
Denver will play the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road next on Friday.
