The Denver Nuggets will be without starting point guard Jamal Murray for multiple games, per Nick Kosmider and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

But after tests came back negative, the team appears to have avoided a situation that could have seen him sidelined for even longer due to his ankle injury.

Head coach Mike Malone previously made it clear that Monte Morris would step into the starting five for Thursday's game against the Golden State Warriors, a new division of labor that seems likely to stick moving forward.

Just six of Morris' 125 career NBA appearances have come as a member of the starting five, but he has averaged 15 points, 5.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest in those games on 55.4 percent shooting; as a reserve, he has been held to just 9 points and 3.4 assists on a nightly basis.

Missing games has not been commonplace for Murray throughout his career. He played in each of the team's first 40 contests this season, having sat out just eight regular-season games over his first three years in the league.

Even with a built-in replacement at their disposal, the Nuggets will undoubtedly have some adjustments to make without Murray. He entered Thursday second on the team in both scoring (17.6) and assists (4.6) on a nightly basis, with his absence likely to force Nikola Jokic to take on a larger role in distribution despite his unique role as the team's center.

Following the game against Golden State, Denver will play a back-to-back over the weekend. There is an inherent vague timeline attached to the phrase “multiple games,” which likely gives the organization wiggle room as it pertains to the next time that Murray could take the floor.