What should’ve been a meaningless jump ball at the end of Friday’s Nuggets-Thunder matchup turned into a revealing moment that encapsulated Denver’s burgeoning confidence.
OKC star Russell Westbrook stood shoulder-to-shoulder with , the two jostling for position with the game already decided and just 35 seconds remaining. Awaiting a jump ball, Westbrook took a step in front of Murray and shoved him, inviting the confrontation that happened next.
“He was in my way,” Westbrook said curtly after the 109-98 loss to the Nuggets that improved Denver’s West-leading record to 19-9.
Murray, whose 19 points and nine rebounds were each second only to ’s sterling game, had a different version.
“I was standing in my spot, (Westbrook) tried to step over me and then shoved me first,” Murray said. “I guess they were losing or whatever. I don’t know. Ask him. I was just standing in my spot.”
Murray has already gotten under the skin of Kyrie Irving this season, but this time it appeared Westbrook was the instigator.
“My skin? We’re up 30 seconds left,” Murray said. “What do you want me to do? I’m not doing anything. … Thatap how he is, I guess. Thatap not my problem.”
The skirmish devolved into some jawing and shoving between two teams that clearly dislike each other. After Westbrook was bottled up by defensive specialist in their first meeting in late November, the Thunder’s central nervous system went haywire after he was contained by Craig yet again. Westbrook managed just 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
The win again revealed that Murray is the emotional heartbeat of the Nuggets, and rather than admonish his young point guard as he did when he attempted to eclipse 50 points in a win over Boston, Nuggets coach Michael Malone endorsed Murray’s moxie.
“A lot of guys can’t play with emotion,” Malone said. “Jamal, for me, being around the game for a long time, is one of the better players that when he gets emotional, he becomes a better player. He thrives with that emotion. I like it. We’re developing a personality. For a young team to be doing what we’re doing, the confidence is there, I think the toughness is starting to show itself.”
Things got heated between Russ and Jamal Murray late in the 4th 👀
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
Down three starters against the NBA’s best defense, the Nuggets illustrated their seemingly endless depth once again. Craig tied a career-high with 15 points, added 16 and offered 14 as the Nuggets got huge contributions from nearly everyone who played. Of course Jokic is the adhesive that makes it all work. He had 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, embracing a scorer’s mentality that must carry the team until several crucial scorers return.
“I think itap just another testament to our team’s toughness, durability, resiliency, moxie, grit, whatever else you want to call it,” Malone said.
Swaggy P time. The Nuggets have an extremely tight-knit locker room that would normally be difficult to crack, but Nick Young’s personality has a gravitational pull. Young, less than a week into his tenure with the Nuggets, made sure his teammates knew who landed the first interview in the postgame locker room after he buried two big 3-pointers.
“From watching cartoons with the family to hitting 3s in a game,” Young said. “Gotta love it.”
Young’s interview was interrupted multiple times as teammates shouted “Swaggy P” but that hardly distracted the veteran quote machine.
“I’m like Elvis really,” Young said of his raucous debut at the . “I’m like Elvis Presley out here. Swaggy Presley.”
