With another virtuoso performance, ‘Playoff Murray’ is back – and making history – for Nuggets

DENVER – Nuggets guard Jamal Murray scored 40 points Wednesday night, leading Denver to a Game 2 win – and a 2-0 series lead – over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It was the playoff masterclass Nuggets fans have grown accustomed to from Murray, who burst onto the postseason scene in “the bubble,” the isolated tournament the NBA held in the fall of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He rattled off 50, 42 and 50 points in consecutive games against the Utah Jazz in a first-round series win. He dropped another 40-burger on the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

It was during that run that “Playoff Murray” was born.

Murray, now in his seventh year, missed the playoffs in each of the following two seasons after tearing his ACL in April of 2021.

It’s been an emphatic return to the postseason for Murray in 2023, pouring in 24 and 40 points in the first two games against Minnesota at Ball Arena – leading the Nuggets in scoring in each contest.

With Wednesday’s performance, the star guard also found his way into the record books.

With his fifth postseason 40-piece, he passed Alex English for the most such games in franchise history.

While Murray is a more-than-effective regular season player – he averaged 20 points per game and was the 14th-most efficient point guard in the NBA, according to ESPN’s metrics – he’s shown an entirely different level of play in the postseason.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Murray has just four 40-point performances in his 410 career regular-season games. His five such performances in the playoffs have come in just 35 games.

Going into the 2023 postseason, Murray was already in rare company when it comes to 50-point playoff performances. According to @StatMuse on Twitter, only Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell claim multiple 50-point playoff games among active players. Only three players all-time – Michael Jordan (8), Wilt Chamberlain (4) and Allen Iverson (3) have more, according to the account.