"You are ours" - Michael Malone looks back on emotional conversation with Jamal Murray after career-threatening injury
Jamal Murray put on a show in front of the LA crowd to place his team in a commanding 3-0 lead against the Lakers.
As soon as the ball game started, he was locked in, and it was lights out from then on. For the majority of his 37-point performance, Jamal Murray looked confident with every shot he took, regardless of any defensive coverage thrown at him.
But for as confident as he looked, there was a time when Murray thought of himself as "damaged goods," following his ACL injury. Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone recalled a conversation with the point guard after he suffered the injury during the 2020-21 season:
"I remember being in the bus with him [Jamal Murray]... and he had tears in his eyes, and I told him, ‘Hey man, you’re gonna come back from this. And not only are you going to come back, you’re going to be better.'
"I hugged him and said, ‘Hell no, you’re ours. We love you, we’re going to help you get back, and you’re going to be a better player for it.'"
In his return to postseason action, Murray is averaging 27.9 points (47.5% shooting, including 41.2% from 3-point range), 6.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds.
His elite level of play in this year's playoffs has showcased that the Nuggets point guard has not missed a step with his offensive prowess. After all the work and dedication he put in to recover from his ACL injury, Murray has delivered and returned a better player.
Jamal Murray on impressive Game 3 road victory
After the game, Jamal Murray spoke to ESPN's Lisa Salters on Denver's poised nature to steal one against the Lakers:
"I thought we stayed with it. We knew they'd go on runs. We just had a hit-first mentality like we've had all the playoffs. We were able to keep them out of distance throughout most of the game. We just executed throughout the game and hit first. It's a team effort, we're a free-flowing team. 5 more to go."
During the first half of the contest, Murray had 30 points alone on 13-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He finished the second half with seven points and became more of a facilitator at the offensive end with five assists and no turnovers.
In the second-round matchup against the Lakers, Murray is averaging 35.0 points (52.1% shooting, including 45.5% from 3-point range), 7.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.