Watch - Jamal Murray takes it all the way and throws down a mean slam in Game 5 of the NBA Finals
Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets struggled in the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on Monday night. This came as Murray scored just four first-half points as the Heat trailed 51-44 at half-time.
However, Murray still turned heads early in the first quarter when he threw down an explosive one-handed jam after a straight-line drive to the basket. Murray was freed up for the dunk after his star teammate Nikola Jokic set a hard screen on Heat guard Gabe Vincent at midcourt.
Vincent was sent flying to the ground, leaving the Heat unable to recover defensively.
Watch the play below:
JAMAL THROWS IT DOWN 🔥
(via @NBA)
https://t.co/jQQuHJ1Ok3
Jamal Murray on the Nuggets' ability to not repeat their mistakes
Ahead of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against Miami, Jamal Murray took part in a media availability session. During the session, the Nuggets star was asked how Denver has been so successful this postseason in learning from their mistakes and not repeating them.
Murray spoke about how it’s just natural to try learning from your past failures:
“Yeah, it's like when you're trying to teach something and they keep making the same mistake over and over.
“How many times have we gone back and seen us not getting back in transition? How many times not boxing out, ball watching, all that stuff?”
Murray then spoke about how important it is to react as quickly as possible in games to make up for mistakes:
“I think once we just be aware that we're doing that in the moment in the game, we have a quicker — even if it's half a second, we are realizing a second quicker, and we are all making the right effort to make up for that mistake.”
Murray later attributed the Nuggets' success to their tight-knit team chemistry and everyone understanding their roles:
“A lot of it is if we do make a mistake, there's somebody behind covering for you.”
“So all of us being on a string and all of us understanding what we are trying to accomplish. Obviously, they are manipulating stuff, getting a few here and there. But as long as we're on the same page, we'll be good for 48.”
Murray and the Nuggets entered Monday’s Game 5 up 3-1 over the Heat in the Finals with a chance to close out Miami at home and win the franchise's first-ever NBA championship.
Also read: "I feel like there's nobody better than us"- Jamal Murray says he and Nikola Jokic are the best duo in NBA when both of them are locked in