Jamal Murray says he 'was in a zone' to make clutch game-winning shots as Nuggets beat Suns
Tuesday 24 December 2019 08:09, UK
Jamal Murray said he 'was just in a zone' after his clutch shooting in the final minute helped the Denver Nuggets to a dramatic win over the Phoenix Suns.
Murray shot fearlessly in the final seconds, with only one thought on his mind: winning. Denver have been doing a lot of that lately.
"I was just in a zone, not thinking about anything really," Murray said. "Just in a zone. Everybody was locked in."
Murray made a tie-breaking jumper with 3.2 seconds left and Nikola Jokic finished with a triple-double as the Nuggets rallied for a 113-111 victory over the Suns on Monday night.
Murray finished with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 shooting on three-pointers. Jokic had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of this season.
The Nuggets extended their winning streak to seven games while the Suns have lost seven in row.
The teams traded clutch shots in the final moments. First it was Murray who hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to push Denver ahead 111-108. Two seconds later, Devin Booker nailed a three-pointer off an inbounds play to tie it.
Murray had one more big shot in him, making a jumper just inside the three-point line with 3.2 seconds left to give the Nuggets a 113-111 lead. Booker had a three-point attempt blocked by Jerami Grant just before the final buzzer.
"Down the stretch, [Murray] was phenomenal," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "This wasn't our best game, but when you don't play your best on the road, you have to find ways and that is what I'm proud about."
The Suns trailed for most of the night, falling behind by 16 points in the second quarter, but slowly fought their way back.
The Nuggets hit 12 of their first 17 three-point attempts but finally cooled off midway through the third quarter and missed their next seven from long range. That allowed Phoenix to make a push and Frank Kaminsky's short jumper early in the fourth quarter gave the Suns an 83-82 lead, their first since the first quarter.
Rookie Cameron Johnson hit two triples in a row - one on a bank shot - to put the Suns ahead 91-88 with about nine minutes left in the game. Phoenix pushed that advantage to 101-92 but Denver rallied to tie it at 108 with two minutes left on Jokic's three-pointer.
The Suns have not won a game in two weeks and this one hurt more than most.
"That was a tough one," Johnson said. "I felt like we had a lot of momentum going into that fourth quarter, halfway through and that is a tough one. I really thought we were going to pull that one out."
Ricky Rubio scored 21 points for the Suns. Eight Phoenix players scored in double figures, but it was not enough to snap its lengthy losing streak.
"It is the deep hurt that allows you to grow," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "It's a life principle, and certainly in sports. We have to start closing these games out."
