Jamal Murray is determined to make a second straight appearance in the All-Star Weekend's Rising Stars Challenge this Friday, despite fighting constant chest pains for the past week.
The second-year guard was questionable entering last night's game against the San Antonio Spurs, but played and totaled 17 points through a heavy load of 38 minutes in the win.
He will be listed as questionable once again for Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but plans to be ready to defend his MVP title at the Rising Stars Challenge as a member of the World Team.
“Pain’s nothing to me,” said Murray, according to Harrison Wind of BSN Denver. “I’ve played through broken fingers.”
During last year's Rising Stars Challenge, Murray had a game-high 36 points and 11 assists, connecting in nine 3-pointers to earn MVP honors — a moment that proved pivotal in turning his season around after struggling for the first half of his rookie campaign.
The Canadian-born sharpshooter has also played through two back hernias in his first season in the league, proving to be quite the ironman at the raw age of 20 years old.
The 6-foot-4 guard has made major strides in his play from one year to the next, winning the starting spot over Emmanuel Mudiay and averaging 16.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as a converted point guard.
Murray is shooting an improved 37.8 percent from deep and a deadeye 92.4 percent from the stripe, numbers that will undoubtedly put him in contention for a second straight MVP mention come Friday night.
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