DENVER (AP) – Jamal Murray is locked in right now – with his shot, with his swagger and especially with his confidence in his team.
“It’s fun to play basketball,” the Denver point guard said. “But we still have room to improve. We’re not satisfied with where we’re at.”
Murray scored 32 points, Nikola Jokic got his 16th triple-double of the season and the Western Conference-leading Nuggets held off the reeling New Orleans Pelicans 122-113 yesterday.
Murray made a season-high seven three-pointers to give him 771 for his career and move him past JR Smith for second place on the franchise list. He’s just 33 away from matching Will Barton for the top spot.
“I’ll get that in three games,” cracked Murray.
See, swagger.
His smooth jumper was so in rhythm early in the game on Tuesday that Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn’t want to take him out. Malone didn’t, either, until later than usual.
“I don’t want to be the guy that puts the fire out,” said Malone, whose team trailed by 12 in the second quarter before closing the gap to 60-57 at half-time and taking control in the third. “Jamal was really, really good in all areas of the game tonight.”
Ditto for Jokic, who finished with 26 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists as the Nuggets improved to 16-0 when he has a triple-double.
“I’m happy as long as we are winning games and the players are happy around me,” Jokic said.
CJ McCollum and Herbert Jones both scored 21 points for the Pelicans, who have dropped nine straight games. They finished 3-13 in January.
Part of the reason for the slide has been the absence of standout Zion Williamson, who has missed 15 games in a row with a hamstring injury.
“We’ve got to keep our heads down and keep working,” coach Willie Green said. “It’s hard to win in the NBA. We’re seeing that. There was some beauty in what I saw tonight…. We’re right there, but we have to sustain it for 48 minutes.”
Jokic, who’s been dealing with tightness in his left hamstring, had another efficient shooting performance in going 10 of 14.
