He’s been a superhero so many times this month, you almost forgot Jamal Murray is still mortal.
And no mortal is immune from missing a timely free throw.
Murray missed two of them Tuesday, the final nails in the coffin for Denver in a 109-107 loss to Detroit. Among the finite number of ways a basketball game can end, this one was about as unusual and irreplicable as they get. Twice in the last 3.5 seconds, the Pistons fouled Murray on 3-point attempts while they were trying to protect a 3-point lead, sending him to the free throw line with chances to force overtime. And twice, the 89% free throw shooter missed one.
The ending: Painful. The context: Relevant enough to soften the blow. It was yet another game Denver had no business winning on paper, down four starters against a Detroit team that’s running away with the No. 1 seed in the East. Not only that; Murray was particularly easy for teammates to forgive. He’s been extraordinary all season, especially in the absence of Nikola Jokic. Even after an agonizing loss, the Nuggets were 9-6 without their three-time MVP center. Murray has been the team’s shepherd.
The prevailing conclusion about those free throws around the locker room and from coach David Adelman? No biggie.
“He’s a clutch player,” Bruce Brown said, shrugging.
“It happens,” Jonas Valanciunas added.
Murray, understandably annoyed at himself, was the exception.
“I’ve just gotta be better,” he said. “I had a golden opportunity there twice. Once to redeem myself. So it wasn’t my night. I’ve just gotta be better. … I didn’t play well today. Stats say otherwise. But I didn’t feel like I had a major impact on the game. I didn’t take advantage of my opportunities. I played too slow.”
Murray amassed 24 points, five rebounds, 10 assists and only two turnovers against the NBA’s second-best defense. But the point guard is usually more concerned with his efficiency. He’s been flirting with the rarefied air of the “50-40-90” club, a select group of players in NBA history who’s shot 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% from the foul line for an entire season. On a couple of occasions recently, he’s made self-deprecating jokes about how he’s holding himself back with a few bone-headed missed free throws.
Against Detroit, he failed to make a 3-pointer for only the third time this season. He went 10 of 15 at the line. Ausar Thompson was unafraid to foul him as Detroit defended him on and off the ball with Bad Boys-esque physicality.
“Just a tough day for me,” Murray said. He told teammates afterward that the loss was his fault.
The Pistons could have put Murray on the line for only two shots to prevent him from attempting a game-tying shot in the first place, but they neglected their opportunity to intentionally foul him while he danced with Javonte Green on the perimeter. Murray even fumbled the ball briefly and had to recover it before he went into his shooting motion. Only then did Green foolishly foul by closing out into Murray’s landing space. Adelman’s bench inquired about whether it should have been upgraded to a flagrant.
“We were looking for, ‘Did he step underneath his foot?’ Which I know asking for that late (in the) game seems kind of soft,” Adelman admitted. “But the way the rules are written, they tend to side with the shooter nowadays. Either way, he got a look. He got fouled. … We put ourselves in a situation where everything had to be perfect the last three minutes for us to win the game.”
Murray missed the first free throw out of three. Denver’s hopes seemed dashed. But Adelman had chosen to cling to his last timeout on the previous possession. Murray could still afford to make the last two and cut the deficit to 107-106. Then, theoretically, the Nuggets would be able to advance the ball for one more set play even after a pair of Detroit free throws.
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This time, he missed the second. He had no choice but to intentionally miss the third and hope for a miracle tip-in. The Nuggets had run out of miracles.
“I don’t really try to foul-bait, honestly. I was trying to get a clean look,” Murray said of the 3-point attempts. “The first one, he took my leg out, so I thought it was a foul. The second one, it was kind of like a slight push. But I mean, I literally practice both those shots. So if I could just make a free throw, maybe hit rim in the first half, it would be lovely.”
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