NEW ORLEANS – The only shot Jamal Murray seemingly missed was the one where he tossed his white arm sleeve into the gaggle of screaming fans as he ran off the court at the Smoothie King Center.
It took him two tries to get it up into the stands. Everything else he knocked down without fail.
The Denver Nuggets rookie by way of Kitchener, Ont., had a pretty good game going at half time of the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night: nine points and six assists on five shots – three triples – in just over five minutes as he came off bench.
But in the second half Murray lost his mind, scoring 27 of his game-high 36 points while adding 11 points as he led Team World to a 150-141 win over Team USA.
Murray was 9-of-14 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from two-point range as he managed to mix his offence and his playmaking perfectly as he carried Team World down the stretch.
“You never know when you’re going to go off,” he said. “I was just trying to hit every shot I [took]. A couple of shots I got too excited and I missed them but I wasn’t thinking about MVP, or how many points I had, I was just playing.
“Guys were telling me to shoot it, fans were telling me to shoot it. Guys were trying to get me open and I was just trying to take advantage of that.
“[When] guys are giving you confidence, you don’t have to second guess it, so I wasn’t second-guessing it. I was just taking heat checks.”
Murray becomes the second Canadian to win MVP honours since the event rejigged its format three seasons ago, joining Andrew Wiggins who won it in 2015.
Team World led 77-66 at the half, but Team USA pulled ahead in the second half behind the play of Charlotte’s Frank Kaminsky and San Antonio’s Jonathon Simmons. Kaminsky finished with 27 points to lead Team USA, and Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 24 points and 11 boards.
After checking in with just over 14 minutes play in the second half, Murray scored or assisted on 35 of his team’s next 46 points. He sealed the game with a flurry of three triples in 49 seconds with 2:30 left.
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“Guys were telling me to shoot it, fans were telling me to shoot it…I was just taking heat checks.”
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His Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic, who finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, was asked if a game like Murray had Friday night could be a confidence booster for him.
Nah, said Jokic. He doesn’t need it.
“He has confidence, to be honest,” said Jokic. “He’s not a shooter, he’s a scorer. He can score with both hands around the rim; mid-range, three-point range. He’s a scorer. I think we have a bright future in Denver.”
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