BBNBA: Jamal Murray dazzles in Denver as Nuggets take commanding 2-0 lead

At the beginning of the NBA season, nobody knew what they were going to get from Jamal Murray. He took roughly 18 months to recover from a knee injury. Throughout points of the season, it looked as if the player that shined in the NBA Bubble would take a while to prove himself again. After Wednesday night, all doubt about Murray should be removed.

In a massive Game 2 at home, Murray showed why he’s one of the league’s best.

Murray was warm coming into Game 2. He punished the Minnesota Timberwolves with 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in Denver’s Game 1 win. Wednesday night was a different story though. The Canadian point guard went for 40 points in a 122-113 Nuggets win. Murray shot a blistering 6-10 from beyond the arc and made all but one of his nine free throw attempts. In fact, his 40-bomb was Murray’s second-highest scoring night of the season. Not a bad time to turn up.

Behind Murray’s 40-piece were unconscious daggers that sent the Timberwolves packing. The only player on the court who outscored Murray was Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards. Late in the fourth quarter, Murray and Edwards were trading buckets like they were Pokémon cards. However, it was Murray who went home with the last laugh. With under two minutes to go, Murray stepped back and cashed home a triple.

That trey got him to 40 points, but more importantly, sealed Minnesota’s fate.

JAMAL MURRAY 40 PIECE 🗣 pic.twitter.com/Yy1W0ogSrQ
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 20, 2023

Murray keeping it simple

Murray didn’t jump to any conclusions in his postgame interview. When asked if he was “back”, Murray gave a humble response that included a testament to his journey this year.

“I’m just trending. I knew it was going to be an up-and-down season for me,” Murray said. “I knew I was going to have bad moments, sore moments, rough moments. I knew I was going to have my adrenaline going in the first couple playoff games, the energy here is undeniable. I kind of planned for it, but it was nice to settle down and just play my game.”

He did indeed play his game.

Roll the tape 🎥 pic.twitter.com/va1yhTkLfI
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 20, 2023

On the other side of the BBNBA ball, Karl-Anthony Towns had a tough offensive night. Towns dropped 10 points on 3-12 shooting. Although he struggled from the field, KAT was still able to notch a double-double with a 12-rebound outing. The mile-high mountain that is Denver looks impossible to climb now for Minnesota, which trails 2-0 in the series as the venue shifts to Minnesota.

Lakers not sharp enough

The second BBNBA loss of the night was gifted to Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Wenyen Gabriel at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. Davis was unable to replicate his monster double-double from Game 1. The Grizzlies had the Lakers figured out from the start, outscoring the Purple and Gold 59-44 in the first half.

The Lakers showed commendable fight, but a flat start ultimately hurt them in the end. Memphis won 103-93 and now the series is tied heading back to the City of Angels. Davis was much quieter Wednesday night, going for 13 points and eight rebounds. He was a block machine though recording five rejections, but his defense was about all to applaud.

It wasn’t AD’s best shooting night either, seeing he went 4-14 from the field. Vanderbilt gave his typical solid shift, this time with eight points and eight rebounds. The Lakers can’t be reliant on the possibility that Vando breaks out for 20 points though. It starts with LeBron James and Davis, no shocker there. Gabriel was unable to make any impact, considering he saw only one singular minute of action.

Lakers vs. Grizzlies will resume on Saturday, with Game 3 set to tip-off at 10:00 p.m. from Los Angeles. A heavy BBNBA presence will be required if LA wants to defend homecourt.

4/20/23 BBNBA statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Jamal Murray (DEN)	122-113 W vs. MIN	40	13-22 (6-10)	3	5	2	0	4	+1	38
Anthony Davis (LAL)	103-93 L @ MEM	13	4-14 (1-1)	8	3	0	5	2	-4	37
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	122-113 L @ DEN	10	3-12 (2-5)	12	2	0	1	5	-9	34
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	103-93 L @ MEM	8	3-5 (0-1)	8	0	2	1	2	+8	21
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	103-93 L @ MEM	0	0-0 (0-0)	0	0	0	0	1	0	1