When the NBA had to go through the bubble of “Lake Buena Vista”, that Disney complex in Florida, there were some that came out stronger. The world situation was bad, but in sports you can always get something positive out of it. This is a game, after all. One of them was Jamal Murray. Locked up in that place he played his best basketball and had the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
The Canadian averaged 24.4 points in his nights there, having two of 50 points against the Jazz, and was talked about more than Jokic as a differential element of his team. What came next was too merciless a condemnation. Jamal tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in April 2021 and it hasn’t been until this season that he has returned.
It will take a while for him to feel as comfortable as he did before the injury, but in Portland he was very happy on Thursday. His shot was the decisive one to win. Smile again. Denver’s narrow 120-121 win at the Moda Center bears his signature. And it is an exercise in overcoming.
The Nuggets landed in Oregon with three straight losses with Jokic in good shape, who hasn’t given up for two years (almost as long as Murray has been without being able to hit the ground running). It was crucial to win, they are also rivals in the conference.
Santiago de la Peña
