LAS VEGAS — Jamal Murray hit the ground running at Las Vegas NBA Summer League. After putting up 14 points in the Nuggets’ 88-82 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, Murray slipped past throngs of media to film his NBA 2K alter-ego.
Despite the productive scoring performance on the court and the star treatment afterwards, Murray hoped for more from his summer league opener. The No. 7 pick in June’s NBA draft felt his Nuggets debut was just “OK” because he couldn’t get into a groove.
“I started off slow,” Murray said. “I wasn’t moving properly. I just had butterflies going through (me).”
The first quarter, which featured Murray alongside fellow draft picks Petr Cornelie and Juan Hernangomez and Denver’s 2015-16 backcourt of Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris, was filled with turnovers and peppered with sloppy defense. Four of the Nuggets’ first five 3-point attempts were airballs, including Murray’s first shot attempt, a missed 3-pointer from the left corner.
Murray finished the first half scoreless and didn’t hit his first field goal until midway through the third quarter. On his retreat back to defense, summer league coach Micah Nori beckoned Murray over to the sideline.
“I just said keep shooting,” Nori said of his conversation with Murray. “(I said) It was good to get that first (shot) out of the way and now we can just get to playing basketball, because at the end of the day itap still 10-foot rims, and 15-foot free-throw line.”
That seemed to settle Murray.
He went on to sink tough teardrop reverse layups and floating jumpers and finished 5-of-14 from the field. The bow-and-arrow celebration that Dallas Mavericks’ shooting guard Wesley Matthews made famous and Murray adopted while splashing in 113 threes at Kentucky never made an appearance, as Murray finished only 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.
But walking from the big white 2K van to another media interview, Murray was quiet and calm. It didn’t seem to matter that a hot-handed Kris Dunn, taken before Murray with the No. 5 pick, led all scorers with 27 points and brought Murray’s teammate JaKarr Sampson to the ground with a dazzling crossover. Murray was focused inward.
“I got the jitters out,” he said. “I just had to get past that first game and get ready for the next (game).”
Murray and the Nuggets will play their next game at 6 p.m. Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the D-League Select team 99-79 on Friday.
