NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 7, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Game 3: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 109, Miami Heat 94

Q. Coach Malone was in here saying that he thought you took the blame for Game 2 or at least put it on yourself. How did it motivate you and Nikola tonight?

JAMAL MURRAY: The last shot felt good. It was more like throughout the game. I felt like I didn't bring the intensity that the moment called for. Even though I didn't play terrible, I felt like I could have done a lot more.

Most people that have watched the Nuggets play, when I have a game like that, I'm most likely going to bounce back. Just one of those days. I think not just me but everybody bounced back. Everybody brought the energy. K only took four shots but he was into everybody. Michael was grabbing boards, even though he wasn't making shots. AG, same thing, 10 boards, didn't shoot well. Actually shot 50 percent. My bad.

Yeah, just everybody was just coming into the game and wanting to bring the intensity that we're used to playing with. I thought CB was great, and I thought Jeff was great, and everybody was ready to play tonight.

Q. You mentioned Christian. What have you thought about his activity, his cutting, his off-ball movement that fits into your style of offense?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, he knows what to do to stay on the floor. He's solid on defense, shoots the gaps, plays hard, in the right spot he crashes, plays solid defense.

He knows the offense will come when he's doing those things, and he's playing with a lot of confidence. We're finding him like he's a five-year vet. He's just playing the game the right way, every game. Even if he makes mistakes he knows how to bounce back, and I think that's huge for a rookie, especially getting these kind of minutes. He's got a lot more game to come, not just in these Finals but in his career. Excited to see what he can do.

Q. Jamal, what Nikola did tonight has never been done in a Finals game, and what you two did together had never been done, period. In the moment are you watching Nikola and appreciating what he's doing and then also feeling the kind of game and performance that you're having?

JAMAL MURRAY: What he does, he makes it look so easy. You grabbed 21 boards and everybody is talking about he can't jump, and he's out there battling everyone, he's physical, he's strong, 30 points, people say he doesn't want to score. Gives you 32. Then 10 assists.

He just makes the game look easy throughout the game, and like I said, just free throws, his touch, his creativity, his no-look passes, his IQ. I could go down the line. He's a special, special player.

Q. Many are calling this game obviously you and Jokic's best game as a duo. Over the last seven years, how has your relationship grown, both on and off the court? How have you supported each other through everything both of you guys have been through?

JAMAL MURRAY: I'd say it's a trust and a feel, that's the best way for me to put it. It's not really X's and O's. It's just reading the game and trusting that the other is going to make the right play. If he throws it to me, he knows and expects what to see from me, and he knows the mood I'm in, the intensity I'm playing with, whether it's low or high, time and score, and vice versa. I know when he's overpassing, I know when he's looking to score, I know when he's the best player on the floor, I know when he's taking a second to get into the game.

I think it's just a feel and a trust that we're going to figure it out, and it's a lot of unselfishness, like I keep bringing that up. It's free flowing. If something is there, we go. If it's not, we don't force it. He makes tough shots look easy, and he's been doing it for a very long time.

I think the consistency doesn't get talked about enough.

Q. With about seven minutes to go in the second quarter you caught a pass from Jeff Green and hit a step-back three over Bam Adebayo. How big was that shot?

JAMAL MURRAY: In the first half?

Q. Yeah, in the second quarter.

JAMAL MURRAY: As the shot clock was going down and I just got to my spot and just sunk it down, just a drill shot that I practiced basically my whole life.

Q. Your locker has been next to Christian's all year. I'm curious if you've seen him change off the court at all? Is he more comfortable being in the locker room as the season has gone on?

JAMAL MURRAY: I think we've got a great team bond. We're very tight. Everybody is comfortable saying something to each other, getting on each other.

I told CB at halftime to shoot the gap and get the steal. He had a chance to do it in the first half and he didn't go. Second half he went for it. Just the confidence he has to go in the game and gamble like that seconds after I just told him. Like I said, he's going to grow and he's going to be a very, very solid player in this league.

I'm excited to see him develop his game and gain more confidence, more trust from not just us, the coaching staff, as well, and see him grow.

Q. You guys had one of the biggest rebounding margins in Finals history tonight and you had a triple-double along with your 30 points. As a rebounder and facilitator what are you seeing with the defense to pick your spots and contribute and when you have nights like these?

JAMAL MURRAY: I think it's a mixture. Sometimes it's an effort play. Sometimes the ball just comes to you. Sometimes somebody else does the dirty work and boxes the big guy out. I think it's everybody chipping in to get those rebounds. That's not an individual stat. Like I said, Mike on the boards. AG on the boards following his own misses. I'll come in and help out. Joke is down there battling every time, every game.

So I think it's a collective effort. Sometimes you may not get it but you may be the reason that somebody else gets it, and I think we did a great job collectively giving them one shot and getting out and running.

Q. Malone said you put a lot of pressure on yourself after Game 2. How do you manage pressure? What do those hours look like, and how do you try to compartmentalize and not let that pressure dog you?

JAMAL MURRAY: You know, if people ask, it's a big stage, do you get nervous and stuff? You're supposed to be. That's what makes you care. That's what makes you alive. That's what makes you enjoy these moments. It's good to feel that. I just kind of get into zone, meditate a little bit, lock back in, knowing this is what I do, this is what I've been doing for my whole life, this is what I've wanted to do I my whole life. This is the stage I've been working personally to get to my whole life.

All the butterflies, that's supposed to happen. That shows that you care and that shows that you're excited.

Q. That conversation yesterday where he threw his arm around you, what did that mean to you to have that never-ending support from you him?

JAMAL MURRAY: Not just me but he's always checking on guys, seeing their mood and tone, and I just think he does a great job, especially at this stage, of communicating what he's thinking as well, not just picking your brain.

But he has, like I said, we've been playing together for seven years now, and he's got a lot of trust in me and my capability and most of all the energy and intensity that I bring. He's excited for that.

He knew it wasn't my best in Game 2, and he looked forward for me to get it back in Game 3.

Q. When you're scanning the box score and you see 32, 21, 10 on Joker's line, what goes through your mind?

JAMAL MURRAY: I think it speaks for itself. It speaks for itself, bro. Like I said, how many times does he have to do that for you guys to believe in his game or our game or whatever? Like he's doing it, making it look so easy, good shooting, low turnovers, two blocked shots, got great hands, great communication in the pick-and-rolls, and IQ and all that.

Like I say, we're running out of things to say. He makes the game look easy, and like I said, the consistency that he's doing that with, not just the first time in the Finals, he's done that before.

It's fun to play with, fun to watch and be a part of.