Jamal Murray had already made his opinion on Sunday’s jarring free-throw disparity known, so when the question came, there was nothing left to do but laugh.
Does MVP candidate Nikola Jokic get the whistle he deserves, Murray was asked after Denver lost to New Orleans.
“You’re gonna tell me Joker’s going to play a 48-minute game and not get to the line once?” said Murray, shaking his head. “I’m telling you thatap ridiculous.”
In more than 34 minutes in Sunday’s 113-108 loss to New Orleans, Jokic made zero trips to the free-throw line despite 19 shots, which included four 3-point attempts. Contrast that with the Pelicans’ bigs — Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Steven Adams — who all went to the line at least six times. Williamson went there 14 times on his own, or four more trips than the entire Nuggets team. He took eight free throws in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets desperately fought to win the game.
Overall, New Orleans went to the free-throw line 30 times. Denver got there just 10.
“Let me just say something,” Murray said. “Thirty free throws to our 10. The last four minutes, they shot four minutes of straight free throws. Thatap crazy. We can play defense all we want, but you can’t guard free throws.”
The Nuggets had already done most of the heavy lifting by the time the Pelicans tread a fourth-quarter path to the line. They’d already overcome a 10-point third-quarter deficit, a 36-point gashing in the second quarter and a smattering of second-chance opportunities. Denver was actually leading 102-101 with 1:53 left.
From that point on, aided by lane violations on Jokic and Murray, New Orleans made eight free throws over the final 93 seconds.
Jokic was perusing the postgame box score when he first noticed the disparity.
“Oh, they had 30 free throws?” he asked in between Zoom questions. “Thatap where we lose the game.”
And yet, while the final numbers from the free-throw line were glaring, there were other numbers Nuggets coach Michael Malone pointed to when offering an immediate postgame assessment. First, he cited the 36-21 second quarter where the Nuggets’ defense appeared non-existent. Next, he pointed toward the glass, where Denver got outworked 45-37.
It wasn’t as if the Nuggets didn’t know New Orleans’ personnel; in the 10 games preceding Sunday’s contest, despite their record, the Pelicans were the fifth-best rebounding team in the NBA. On the offensive glass, they led the league.
“I don’t think we had enough bodies in the paint to rebound,” Murray said. “One or two guys is not gonna stop Steven Adams. He’s been doing that for years. … Itap almost like a different game we gotta play where we’re not leaking out … We’re not lingering around and ball-watching. Itap gotta be a constant effort to rebound.”
The silver lining after a physical, frustrating night? A re-match against the Pelicans is only five days away.
