Thursday’s Game 6 matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder was a crucial one for both teams.
Of course, the Nuggets entered Thursday’s contest looking to pick up a victory on their home court to keep their season alive while the Thunder were looking to clinch the series with a victory and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
It was the Nuggets who came out victorious in Game 6 as they were able to pick up the 119-107 victory behind a dominant second half.
Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets in Thursday’s victory with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists while Christian Braun added 23 points and 11 rebounds of his own and Julian Strawther scored a playoff career-high 15 points off the bench.
While these three players came up big in Thursday’s victory, Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray also played a key role.
Murray recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes in Denver’s Game 6 victory over Oklahoma City.
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27).
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Of course, Murray was listed as questionable up to an hour before tipoff after battling an illness. Fortunately for the Nuggets, he was able to play and put together arguably his most complete game of the playoffs on Thursday night.
After Thursday’s victory, Murray was asked if there was any chance of him not playing in Game 6 after dealing with an illness.
“I was always gonna play,” Murray responded.
This was a clear five-word statement by Murray and it is clear that the illness was not only going to sideline the star guard, but it was also not going to impact him too much.
It was an incredible performance from Murray on Thursday night and the star guard will now have two days to rest and get over the illness before Game 7 in Oklahoma City on Sunday where the Nuggets will need him to come up big again if they want to advance to the Western Conference Finals.