The Denver Nuggets travel to Paycom Center to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, coming into the game with a win over the Boston Celtics. The Thunder lost last time around to Cade Cunningham’s Detroit Pistons but are themselves looking forward to the return of talisman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The same cannot be said entirely about Jamal Murray, who has been listed as questionable on the official injury report. Murray is dealing with a severe illness that forced him to exit Wednesday's win over the Boston Celtics prematurely.
And while the Nuggets are short-staffed, the same is true for the defending champions as well. Despite SGA being taken off the injury list, Jalen Williams, Thomas Sorber, Branden Carlson and Ajey Mitchell are all out.
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Jamal Murray injury status vs. Thunder
The Nuggets will hope that Murray can fight through the illness. Murray lasted just eight minutes, scoring two points, before being completely shut down for the evening.
Following the win, Nuggets head coach David Adelman painted a grim picture of his point guard's health, revealing that the team's medical staff had aggressively treated the illness pregame to no avail. “He looked awful. They gave him all the medication. It did not help. All kinds of bodily things were happening,” Adelman had said.
Murray is averaging 25.1 points, 7.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting a highly efficient 48.3% from the field and 42.1% from 3-point range. Further, the Nuggets are already stretched thin.
They will be without Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson, both of whom are sidelined with right hamstring strains, joining the likes of Tamar Bates and Curtis Jones. Meanwhile, Spencer Jones and Jalen Pickett are listed as questionable, while Julian Strawther is probable to play despite a toe sprain.
Nuggets injury report
Jamal Murray: Questionable (Illness)
Spencer Jones: Questionable (Right Shoulder Strain)
Jalen Pickett: Questionable (Right Knee Soreness)
Julian Strawther: Probable (Left Great Toe Sprain)
Aaron Gordon: Out (Right Hamstring Strain)
Peyton Watson: Out (Right Hamstring Strain)
Tamar Bates: Out (Left Foot Surgery)
Curtis Jones: Out (G League – Two-Way)
Thunder injury report
Thomas Sorber: Out (Right ACL Surgical Recovery)
Ajay Mitchell: Out (Abdominal Strain/Left Ankle Sprain)
Jalen Williams: Out (Right Hamstring Strain)
Branden Carlson: Out (Low Back Strain)
