Jamal Murray came to Nikola Jokic’s defense Tuesday night following the Denver Nuggets’ 112–105 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5.
Despite Jokic’s 44-point, 15-rebound performance, the Nuggets were outscored by 15 in the fourth quarter and are now facing elimination in the Western Conference Semifinals.
In his postgame media session, Murray rejected any suggestion that Jokic underperformed in the series.
“A bad game—he had 26, 10, and 8—and it’s like he played bad? Like, no, he missed shots,” Murray said, referring to previous games. “He’s still the engine of our offense… still anchor on defense.”
Jokic hit a game-tying Sombor Shuffle three-pointer late in the fourth to make it 103-103, but Oklahoma City answered with two quick baskets to regain control.
Murray said the team needed to communicate better and clean up defensive rotations in crunch time.
“I just thought we gave a couple open shots,” he said. “We didn’t execute on the other end.”
When asked if Denver’s late-game breakdowns were related to fatigue, Murray dismissed the notion entirely.
“No, man, I don’t use that. I play better when I’m tired,” he responded.
Murray also addressed Denver’s back-to-back blown leads, noting the team let a seven-point fourth-quarter edge slip in Game 4 and a nine-point cushion disappear in Game 5.
“I think we just all got to be on the same page,” he said. “It’s not one person that’s messing up.”
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s clutch shot-making and Jalen Williams’ key three-pointer helped the Thunder seal the win, Murray pointed to defensive lapses as the difference.
“Our rotations just weren’t on point to end the game,” Murray explained. “We may have scored and they were coming back and we’re calling two different defenses.”
Asked how confident he was that the series would return to Oklahoma City for Game 7, Murray didn’t hesitate.
“Very confident. I always am,” he said.
He also made clear that any blame should start with his own performance.
“I need to do better. I didn’t shoot the ball as well. I had some sloppy turnovers,” Murray said. “I could have taken command of the ball a little more down the stretch.”
The Nuggets will look to extend their season Thursday night at Ball Arena, where they must win Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7.
