1. Welcome back, Jamal. With 7,750 fans on hand in Ball Arena on Saturday, the building came alive during pregame when the public address announcer handed the microphone to Jamal Murray. The injured starting point guard, one month removed from ACL surgery, needed several moments to gather his thoughts amid the roar. “Man, I wish I was hooping right now,” Murray told the crowd. “But itap good to be back in front of y’all. We’re going to get this off the right way. Itap time for you guys to cheer and scream as loud as you guys can from the top of your lungs.”
Murray hoisted warmup free throws before the game and was animated on the Nuggets’ bench. He stood beside coach Michael Malone during play, celebrated with teammates, and even chirped toward Portland’s bench. Consider his presence a welcome emotional lift. Malone said: “Jamal is a leader of this team, whether he is playing or not playing. … We all missed him like crazy and itap great to have him back.”
Jamal Murray: “Championship on 3!”
— Mike Singer (@msinger)
2. How about Howard? An interesting development in the Nuggets’ bench rotation unfolded Saturday with reserve guard Markus Howard getting significant early playing time. The first-year undrafted rookie from Marquette was a spark plug over 11 first-half minutes. When Howard blew past Blazers small forward Norman Powell for a nifty right-hand layup, the Nuggets bench went nuts, and Murray chest-bumped Howard as Portland called a timeout. Injuries have decimated Denver’s backcourt. Howard’s budding emergence as a reliable option, especially in the postseason, is positive news.
3. Third-quarter woes. A reoccurring negative theme from the regular season — starting slowly out of halftime — once again plagued Denver in its Game 1 matchup against Portland. The Nuggets led by 3 points out of the break and proceeded to lose the third quarter by a tally of 38-25. The Trail Blazers went up by 10 points to start the fourth quarter. Playing from behind is especially difficult in the playoffs with so much riding on each possession. The Nuggets can’t afford to make heroic comebacks a necessity this postseason.
