Malone has a message for fans as Jamal Murray sets the season high

Jamal Murray crossed the 30-point threshold for the first time this season as the Denver Nuggets cruised past the Detroit Pistons 134-121 on Saturday.

Murray finished with 34 points on 12-of-21 shooting, making four threes and six free throws as he added five rebounds and five assists. In his 24th game of the season, it was Murray’s highest scoring effort to date.

In his eighth season, Murray usually gets off to a slower start before turning it on in December. That’s been the case this year, with the Blue Arrow finding its stride since a huge fourth quarter about two weeks ago against the Kings. But it’s been some rough sledding, and with the Nuggets coming up short last summer, combined with Murray’s struggles in the Olympics, it’s pushed a lot of people to panic about the guard’s play. All of that stands in contrast to the gigantic contract extension he signed on the eve of the season.

“I know everybody’s really riding Jamal really hard right now. It’s not going to do him any favors, man,” Michael Malone said postgame. “The guy cares. He wants to play better. He wants to help this team. His heart is in the right place. Supporting him will go a long way. That’s why I tell the guys ‘Don’t look at the damn phone.’ I don’t care what you say about me, and neither should he.”

Murray’s night on Saturday came as it often does – as a great sidekick to Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP had a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Meanwhile, Denver’s offense stayed hot by scoring over 130 points on back-to-back nights, thanks in part to Michael Porter Jr., who drained five threes en route to 26 points. The 97 points the trio combined for is the most they have ever scored.

“We haven’t been great, but everybody’s finally starting to click. Everybody’s starting to be more comfortable,” Murray said after the win. “I don’t want to say it’s not just me, like, for me, like, it does i don’t yeah i’d love to take shots every night man i strive to make shots every night but i can still try to impact the game without making shots. And I say, and I try to be proud of it. So if you know people want to talk about me not making pictures, then it must be, I know what I’m capable of, I know what I’m doing. And there’s a reason I’m here and there’s a reason I’ve been able to win with this team and be here for years and be able to develop chemistry and all that. So you know, I just let people talk. That’s what they do. That’s why people are over there and I’m over here.”

The Nuggets are now 17-13 and split a back-to-back, losing to the NBA’s best Cavs on Friday due to a terrible defense. Denver has a day off after five games in seven nights and then travels to Utah to face the Jazz to close out 2024.