Jamal Murray
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Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets has been named an All-Star this season.
Another game, another injury for the Denver Nuggets, and it’s Jamal Murray this time around. Murray exited late in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls with an apparent left leg injury.
With around four minutes remaining in the game, Murray drove to the basket and made a contested layup over Guerschon Yabusele. He landed gingerly and was favoring his left leg, barely making it back on defense.
The Nuggets called a timeout as Murray exited to the locker room, with the team up by 15 points. He returned to the bench minutes later, but he didn’t need to check back into the game.
Nikola Jokic finished the game with another triple-double, dropping 22 points, 14 rebounds and 17 assists to lead Denver to a 136-120 win. Murray had 28 points, three rebounds and 11 assists, with six more players scoring in double figures.
The Nuggets recently lost Peyton Watson to a hamstring injury against the New York Knicks, while Spencer Jones suffered a concussion during the same game.
Aaron Gordon is already sidelined with his second hamstring strain of the season, with Tamar Bates out since December 23.
Coach Adelman Drops Latest on Murray’s Injury
In his postgame press conference, coach David Adelman was asked about an update on Jamal Murray’s injury. Adelman dropped some good news, with the coach even joking that the team is so used to guys getting injured this season.
“Yeah, it was his hip,” Adelman said. “I don’t know if he just overcommitted with, but I went back and talked to him. He seemed confident he’s okay. Obviously, we’ll get him checked out. It just didn’t make any sense once we got up double digits to even bring him back once he came in the back. I’ll be honest, man. This just become an every-night thing for us.”
Adelman added that Murray is feeling “banged up,” but he’s confident about him playing in their next game on Monday against the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers.
Murray Shares Good News About His Injury
Jamal Murray was all smiles in the locker room after the game. Murray told reporters some good news regarding his injury, and it seemed like nothing to worry about for the Nuggets fanbase that has been traumatized by the sheer volume of injuries this season.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Murray said. “I’ll be alright. Like, it’s okay. I mean, yeah, today I got hit, and it hurt, but that’s okay. It’ll be alright.”
Murray has been an integral part of the Nuggets’ success this season. He’s averaging 26.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career and will represent Team World.
“The Blue Arrow” led Denver once Nikola Jokic went down with a sprained knee in late December. The Nuggets were able to stay afloat due to Murray’s performances, though Peyton Watson was the breakout star for the Nuggets.
Watson stepped up his game due to Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon missing time. But now, he’s the one on the mend and will miss at least four weeks, as reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.