Game 7 clash between the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz was an uninspiring affair until the clutch minutes. The score was 74-74 when Jamal Murray got his four out of 17 points to give the Nuggets a much-needed lead. But the game again leveled up at 78-78 with 47 seconds remaining.
Now, Rudy Gobert failed to block center Nikola Jokic, who gave the Nuggets a two-point lead. But Donovan Mitchell received an offensive possession with just 15 seconds remaining when he lost the opportunity as he handed the ball to a dangerous Jamal Murray. What followed next was heartache inducing for the Nuggets fans.
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Jamal Murray trolling his Denver Nuggets teammate
Jamal ran back with the ball 10-seconds remaining on the clock when he passed it to an open Torrey Craig. Torrey missed an easy layup, and that almost cost the Nuggets their entire series worth of hard work.
Later in the post-game conference, a relaxed Jamal Murray was giving the interview when Torrey interrupted him and exclaimed, “To be fair I thought he was gonna score.” To this, Jamal laughingly responded, “You missed a layup!”
Craig: “To be fair I thought he was gonna score.”
Murray: “You missed a layup!”
Jamal had jokes for Torrey Craig after Game 7 💀 pic.twitter.com/DP47fnaB1w
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 2, 2020
Torrey was clearly suggesting that he had all the confidence that Murray was going to take that shot on his own. But that did not happen, and it led to a terrible blunder.
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The final 3 seconds: A rush of emotions!
The layup miss gifted Utah center Rudy Gobert an easy rebound (he had 18 of them in the match). He passed it to Mike Conley Jr. who straightaway went for a three-pointer from behind the arc but missed it by a thin margin. Mitchell Donovan is the leader of three-pointers (33) in this series. But he failed to receive an attempt when it mattered the most. The shot that could have given them glory ended up becoming tears in Donovan’s eyes as he later remained lying on the court, sobbing.
Jamal Murray showed the sportsman spirit and went to console him and pay his respect to the brave play. Such mishaps can happen with anyone when the stakes are so high.
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So it is also understandable when Torrey missed the layup. But had Donovan converted that three, these two Nuggets star were definitely not laughing in the interview. Let’s see how they correct their errors as they come back to play the Clippers in conference semis.
Read also – Young Stars Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray Combine For Historic NBA Playoffs Record