Jamal Murray Addresses Dillon Brooks’ Ejection in Nuggets-Suns

Point guard Jamal Murray was in a lot of pain for a moment in Phoenix on Oct. 30, but by the end of the night the Denver Nuggets guard was laughing about it.

Murray scored 39 points in a 127-120 win over the Suns, and the game turned a little when small forward Dillon Brooks was ejected in the third quarter.

Denver led 84-76 with 8:05 left in the third when Brooks kicked his right leg out on a jump shot and caught Murray in the groin.

Officials first called an offensive foul on Brooks, then reviewed the play and upgraded it to a flagrant 2, which comes with an automatic ejection.

Crew chief Tyler Ford announced that Brooks overtly kicked out his leg, according to the Arizona Republic.

Brooks had been the Suns' best player up to that point, with 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting in about 21 minutes.

Murray made one of the two free throws, and the Nuggets held on from there behind 28 second-half points from Murray.

He finished 7-for-9 from three and 12-for-15 at the line, while shooting guard Christian Braun added a career-high 31 points.

Brooks and Murray are both from Canada and play together on the Canadian national team, and Murray did not think the kick was on purpose when asked about it after the game.

"Of course not. He's shooting the ball," Murray said, according to the Denver Gazette.

He added that Brooks may have flopped a little, but he did not believe Brooks tried to kick him.

Murray also said the two always talk during games and called them buddies, according to the Denver Post, and he admitted he did not know the rule behind the ejection.

Suns coach Jordan Ott said the play was nothing malicious, and the Republic reported Brooks faces a fine of at least $2,000.

I think Murray handled this the right way, with no reason to turn a win into a feud with a friend.

The bigger takeaway for Denver is how good Murray has looked since he explained the defensive struggles after the loss to Golden State.

He also said the team needed to help center Nikola Jokic more on the boards after that game, and he grabbed eight rebounds of his own in Phoenix.

He did have five turnovers, which is something he has talked about before, but on a 39-point night that is easy to live with.

The one worry is his workload, since the Denver Post noted Murray was leading the league at 38.5 minutes per game before this game, and he played 37 more in Phoenix.

The Nuggets are 3-2 and their schedule continues against Portland on Nov. 2 and Toronto on Nov. 4, so a few easier nights should be part of the plan.

If he keeps playing like this, Denver has one of the best guards in the West, and I would not wear him down in November.

Denver also won back-to-back games for the first time this season, and with Braun shooting this well next to Murray and Jokic, the Nuggets look a lot closer to the team people expected before the season.