Jamal Murray was one of the breakout players of the Orlando Bubble. In the opening round of the playoffs against the Utah Jazz, Murray scored 50 points on two separate occasions as he went head-to-head against Donovan Mitchell in one of the most exciting series of the postseason.
He helped the Nuggets overcome two straight 3-1 deficits, first against the Jazz, then later against the Clippers, against whom he ignited for 40 points in the deciding Game 7 victory that punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals. His superstar bona fides were all but sealed.
This season has been a little more up and down than expected for Murray, given the expectations set by his play in Orlando, but on Friday night, Murray looked every bit like the unstoppable force we saw in Orlando as he set a new regular-season career high with 50 points in a 120-103 win over the Cavs.
And he did it in dramatic fashion as he took the ball the length of the court for the tomahawk jam to put the exclamation point on that feat.
THREW IT DOWN FOR 5⃣0⃣ pic.twitter.com/L8TWCgJwCj
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 20, 2021
Murray went 21-of-25 on the night and made eight out of his 10 three-point attempts, the last of which set his new regular-season career-high of 48 before the jam put him at 50.
That ties a regular-season career-high with 48 POINTS
pic.twitter.com/YM3iertRf8
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 20, 2021
Earlier in the fourth, Murray knocked down three straight threes during one sequence to help the Nuggets build a lead that they would never relinquish.
.@BeMore27 is UNCONSCIOUS
pic.twitter.com/3xzNiQvHDs
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 20, 2021
Murray’s inconsistent play up to this point of the season has put him on the outside looking in for the All-Star Game, especially with all the other worthy candidates who have made strong cases for their first All-Star berths, but maybe it’s just the inspiration he needs to elevate his play back to those electrifying performances we saw in Orlando.