The Denver Nuggets pulled out a pivotal win during Tuesday's Game 5 to give themselves a 3-2 series lead over the Phoenix Suns. While the first half of the contest was tightly contested, the final two periods proved to be heavily in favor of Denver, with Jamal Murray paving the way during this stretch after a slow start.
Dropping just 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field in the first and second quarter combined, the stud point guard came alive right out of halftime by scoring five of his team's first seven points in the third. Along the way, tempers flared between him and Suns guard Landry Shamet which saw the two get quite physical and jaw at one other.
Ultimately, Jamal Murray had a technical called against him for his part in their back-and-forth exchange. During his post-game media session, however, the 26-year-old squashed any belief that their on-court beef was anything more than just being in the heat of the moment.
“I'm just trying to get myself going sometimes,” Jamal Murray said. “Sometimes I just need a little energy boost to myself and once I'm in attack mode it kind of changes the game. It's nothing personal I'm just playing the game. He's playing defense. He's trying to pressure me and trying to do his job and I'm trying to do mine as well. It's just playoff basketball. There's nothing there.”
Logging 36 minutes on the night, Jamal Murray came away from the crucial Game 5 victory with a stellar stat line of 19 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and a steal while shooting 46.7% from the field and 50.0% from deep.
Considering how grueling of a start he had and finding himself finishing with such numbers, it certainly appears that his tactics of getting an energy boost worked.
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