Jamal Murray took over the fourth quarter in Tuesday's game between the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz to extend the series to a Game 6. The Nuggs were on the brink of elimination, but Murray stepped up big time to make sure that his team wasn't going back to Denver just yet.
However, amid everything happening across America right now, the 23-year old wanted to make sure the reason they are all playing isn't forgotten.
“I wear those Breonna (Taylor) shoes, those George Floyd shoes. We’ve been fighting that battle for 400 years. The least I can do is go out there in the court and fight my battle and play as hard as I can.” Murray said after the Nuggets' win, per Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.
Nuggets’ Jamal Murray: “I wear those Breonna (Taylor) shoes, those George Floyd shoes. We’ve been fighting that battle for 400 years. The least I can do is go out there in the court and fight my battle and play as hard as I can.” pic.twitter.com/0yGOneVbfk
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 26, 2020
It has been a difficult past few days, as the whole world has been dealing with yet another African-American named Jacob Blake being shot in the hands of three police officers over the weekend. Players from around the league have expressed their anger about the incident, and it is clear that athletes like Jamal Murray will continue to put pressure on social change with their statements.
The Nuggets guard has been huge all series long for Denver, averaging 30.8 points per game so far. He dropped 50 points in a losing effort on Game 4 but continued to put the pedal to the metal with his Game 5 performance.
Murray exploded for 42 points, 32 of which came in the second half after trailing as much as 15 points. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic also contributed heavily with 31 markers.
With the win, the series is now at 3-2 and Denver has a chance to even it out on Game 6 come Thursday.
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