Jamal Murray’s Game 5 Explosion: Sign of a Star’s Rise or Just a Fleeting Flare?

Jamal Murray’s resurgence in Game 5 wasn’t just a flash in the pan—it was a blast from the past, the kind of vintage playoff performance that had Nuggets fans wondering if they’ve finally got their co-pilot back. Since the Denver Nuggets’ championship parade in 2023, Murray’s brilliance had dimmed, leaving Nikola Jokic to shoulder an ever-growing burden, a solo Batman without his trusty Robin. But Tuesday night? Murray exploded for 43 points, reminding everyone that his All-NBA caliber game—and with it, Denver’s championship hopes—might just be back in full force. The big question now: Is this the dawn of a new chapter for Murray, or merely a tantalizing mirage in the West’s playoff desert? Only time (and a few more clutch moments) will tell if this is the real Playoff Jamal we’ve been missing.

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Jamal Murray had his best playoff game since the Denver Nuggets’ NBA title run in 2023. Is this version of him here to stay?

Since Jimmy Butler’s trade to the Golden State Warriors in early February, he’s constantly referred to himself as the Robin to Stephen Curry’s Batman.

But there’s another team in the Western Conference that has often felt like Batman without Robin this season. The Denver Nuggets have always asked a lot from Nikola Jokic; that ask has gotten bigger this year as the rest of the team has suffered from bouts of inconsistency and unavailability.

At their best, the Nuggets are an NBA championship contender. That’s easy to say when they’ve retained the core of their championship team from the 2022-23 season. Jokic was the hub of everything then, too, but Jamal Murray leveled up during the 2023 playoffs and played like an All-NBA player, giving the Nuggets answers to any test defenses had for them.

That Jamal Murray hasn’t been there in the last two regular seasons or postseasons, and it’s felt like the Nuggets’ title hopes have disappeared with him. The Nuggets have other good players, but Murray is the one capable of being the co-pilot to the offense for Jokic, and he’s been more very good than elite lately.

DRIP rates him as the 41st-best player in the league, and that isn’t good enough to put the Nuggets on the level of teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Boston Celtics.

There were a couple of high-scoring playoff games for Murray last season, but they felt like mediocre sequels to iconic movies. He had a 32-point game against the Los Angeles Lakers, but it took him 28 shots. He had 35 points in the Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that sent the Nuggets home but had three assists to four turnovers and shot just 4 of 12 on 3s.

He just hasn’t felt like the same playoff assassin since the title.

Until Tuesday night.

Murray had what was easily his best playoff game since 2023, erupting for 43 points and leading the Nuggets to a 131-115 win. And if that Murray is back, the Nuggets have to be taken seriously as a contender once more.

Margin for Error

The Nuggets got a subpar scoring first quarter from Jokic. He had six assists, but he shot just 2 of 7 from the field and split a pair of free throws for five points. It’s the kind of start the Nuggets wouldn’t have been able to afford from Jokic this season. If he didn’t play near his best for the entirety of the game against elite teams, the Nuggets didn’t have a chance to win.

But that’s no way to win a championship. Just ask the Milwaukee Bucks, who were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in five games despite several moments of brilliance from Giannis Antetokounmpo.

So, it had to feel good for the Nuggets to be leading 35-23 after the first quarter on the back of Murray’s 10 points. He looked to be in a groove right away, nailing his two 3-point attempts in the quarter.

It’s the off-the-dribble shooting that makes Murray devastating when he’s at his best. He gets jumpers off quickly and accurately, slipping behind screens and utilizing a quick step back to get off a shot anytime there is the slightest bit of hesitation from the defense. Pair that in a two-man game with Jokic and it’s unguardable.

But Murray’s firepower isn’t all about Jokic, and he showed that in Game 5. When Jokic was off the floor to start the second and fourth quarters, the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by a combined 32-30. Anything that isn’t a train wreck when Jokic is on the bench is a victory; winning those minutes is a massive boon.

The Clippers have some great defenders to throw at Murray. Kris Dunn is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and Derrick Jones Jr. has size, athleticism and discipline. But the Nuggets were able to generate favorable situations often in Game 5 and not just by using the pick-and-roll with Jokic, although that’s obviously a staple of the offense.

When Norman Powell was in the game and Murray was guarding him on defense, the Nuggets were conscious of trying to push the ball up the floor before the Clippers could switch to get a better defender on Murray. Even if those possessions didn’t end in a fast-break attempt, the Nuggets gave Murray a matchup with a subpar defender starting on him.

Even when Dunn was the defender, Murray was able to shake him. When the Clippers went on a run to make the game competitive in the fourth quarter, Murray created separation from Dunn and hit a fadeaway over a helping Ivica Zubac to put the game out of reach.

It wasn’t just the stat line that was different for Murray. His confidence shone through the screen in a way it hasn’t in a long time.

There was the breakaway dunk and subsequent hyping of the crowd in the third quarter. Then, with just over two minutes left in the game and a 17-point lead, instead of walking the ball up the court, Murray sprinted it up and launched another 3-point that, of course, was good.

Maybe that wasn’t the smartest play on paper, but that’s the Murray Denver needs to win in the postseason: The confident gunner who makes the most of the openings Jokic creates and is dynamic enough to keep the team afloat for the few minutes Jokic is on the bench.

Magical Beginning or Mirage?

The game felt different for Murray, but it could just be a fleeting moment, a reminder of the player Murray was two postseasons ago.

After all, we’re just one game removed from Murray struggling mightily against the Clippers’ athletic defenders. He had hit just 2 of 9 3-pointers combined in Games 3 and 4.

Those minutes without Jokic on the floor involved Murray sharing the court with Russell Westbrook and were largely kept afloat by an offensive explosion. That involved two straight 3-pointers by Westbrook in the second quarter. In a one-game sample, Westbrook and Murray going nuclear was enough to outscore the Clippers in those minutes.

But neither of those players keeps his man in front of him often on defense and the Clippers were routinely getting easy looks when both of those players shared the court without Jokic.

In Game 6, the minutes without Jokic could look a lot different if Murray and Westbrook don’t shoot the lights out. The Clippers aren’t out of this series. They’ve looked like the better team at times and have a player in Kawhi Leonard who is able to lift his team to victory just like Jokic. At the same time, Ivica Zubac had his best game of the series in Game 5 and presents a challenge for Jokic underneath.

But in this battle of two heavyweights in the first round, Murray regaining his form could be the difference. In this series, he’s shooting 57.1% from the field and 6 for 12 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.

If he can truly be Playoff Jamal during another run, Denver might be the toughest out the Thunder face in the Western Conference, and we’re only one Nuggets’ win away from finding out if that’s true.

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