The Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray now has amassed 204 points in the NBA Playoffs 2020 series against the Utah Jazz. This is the highest by any Canadian player, beating Steve Nash’s 182 that came in western conference semis (2005). He is even closer to touching a Michael Jordan record.
He now has two 50-point games in the same series and is almost single-handedly carrying the Denver flag ahead. Jamal seeks his support from center Nikola Jokic and forward Jerami Grant, but has scored 29.5% of the Nuggets’ total points in the post-season so far. While doing all this for his team, the 23-YO has made some records for himself too.
Michael Jordan and Jamal Murray matching records!
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The Nuggets got Jamal as the 7th overall pick from the NBA Draft 2016. He turned out to be one of their best findings in ages. Last year in the playoffs, Jamal averaged 21.3 points and helped his side reach the conference semi-finals. This year, he can well be tagged as the most improved playoffs player, as he has added to that average in multifold. Consider this-
Jamal Murray is the 1st player since Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals with 3 straight 40-point games in a postseason series (Jordan had 4 straight). pic.twitter.com/SZW13PvTXZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 31, 2020
Michael Jordan of 1993 was unmatchable. He helped the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns 4-2. Air Jordan remained the highest scorer in each of the matches, even the ones they lost. The Bulls obviously won the NBA title with that man at the helm.
Now, The Blue Arrow has got one more game to score another 40+ and tie himself with MJ’s unique playoffs record.
Jamal Murray is the team’s spinal cord!
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Jamal had only two rough games in the post-season, and the Nuggets lost them both with a massive deficit in points. One interesting fact says that the Denver Nuggets will now be playing their third Game 7 in all the three playoffs series they played since last year. So, the side has the experience to play a high-pressure knock-out game.
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Still, for them to even come closer to win, Jamal has to again put a great show. He will be double-teamed and the Jazz will try their best to contain and limit him, but they’ve got to find a way against it. Let us see whether Donovan Mitchell can put on a better show or will the Jazz bite the dust, losing third in a streak.