Nuggets Are 9-3 With Jamal Murray In Playoff Elimination Games

Denver Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray was listed as questionable on Thursday’s injury report due to an illness, but that didn’t stop him from suiting up for Game 6 against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jamal Murray Received Intravenous Fluids Before Game 5

Murray, 28, reportedly underwent treatment all day Thursday at Ball Arena. The eight-year veteran received intravenous fluids and wasn’t officially cleared to play until roughly 45 minutes before tipoff.

In Denver’s 119-107 victory over Oklahoma City, Murray recorded 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and one block in 42 minutes of action. He also finished 9-of-19 (47.4%) shooting from the field and drilled two 3-pointers.

Jamal Murray in elimination games:

27.8 PPG
5.0 RPG
5.2 APG
49/41/91%

The only player in NBA history to average 25/5/5 on 40+ 3P% in elimination games. pic.twitter.com/XBuJ3dX2sL

— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 15, 2025

According to Basketball Reference, the Nuggets are now 9-3 with Murray in the lineup in playoff elimination games. He has averaged 27.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in those games.

Murray will have another opportunity to add one more win in Sunday’s Game 7 in Oklahoma City. It will be the seventh Game 7 for the Nuggets since 2019, the most in the NBA during that span, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Nuggets Outscored Thunder By 28 Points With Murray On Court

To open Game 5, Murray hit an and-1 3-pointer for Denver’s first basket and scored 11 points in the opening quarter. The Nuggets also outscored Oklahoma City by 28 points with Murray on the court.

“He opened the game really good for us, and he set the tone, but I don’t think this [illness] affected him at all,” said Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic, who posted 29 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. “When you play the game, I think you don’t think about what you have or whatever is the problem.”

Nuggets interim coach David Adelman admitted that he was concerned about how much the illness would affect Murray. However, those worries went away before the first quarter came to a close.

“I kind of was watching the first six minutes [thinking], ‘Is this real? Can he do it?'” said Adelman, who celebrated his 44th birthday Thursday. “And I thought he had good energy and good juice. There was a couple of times where he really wanted to go back to get the ball.

“He was so gassed, having a hard time breathing. But that’s Jamal Murray. It’s almost like the worse it is, the better off it’s going to be. And what a tough-minded, tough-minded man.”

Thunder Have Lost Consecutive Games Just Twice This Season

The Thunder have only lost back-to-back games twice this season, once in November and once in early April. Game 7 will be Oklahoma City’s ultimate test in the win-or-go-home contest.

Jokic improved to 4-2 in career Game 7s with a home-game rout over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

Denver’s entire starting lineup of Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Christian Braun, and Jokic took the court in a Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in last year’s second round.

As for OKC, the team hasn’t played in a Game 7 since 2020: a 104-102 loss to the Houston Rockets in the first round at the Orlando bubble. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort are the only current Thunder players who suited up for that game.