Jamal Murray speaks on how the Denver Nuggets are looking on offense and defense.
The Denver Nuggets managed to rally back to defeat the Utah Jazz, 135-129, on Friday night.
The Nuggets trailed 105-98 going into the fourth quarter, and were down 120-107 with less than seven minutes remaining.
Thanks to a well-oiled offense, and Utah sitting Kyle Filipowski and Brice Sensabaugh, the Nuggets were able to gather enough points and stops to pull out the victory.
It was a big win for the Nuggets as they look to keep pace in a tight Western Conference. The win put them in fourth place, a game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves and 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Jazz are 14th in the West, and any loss to a team outside of the playoff picture would be considered embarrassing at this point in the season for a team battling for positioning.
Jamal Murray Gets Honest
After the game, Nuggets All-Star Jamal Murray was asked about the team's chemistry.
"Offensively, great. Offensively, no complaints, honestly. Defensively, we have some work to do," he said.
Murray said that when teams are coming after them, they have to flip the switch quicker and stop the bleeding.
"I feel like we’re just hoping that we’re going to somehow and probably, eventually go on a run. We have to be able to get a kill and get three stops in a row at some point when we want to and when we need to," he said.
He said that they weren't able to get consistent stops until the end of the game. He closed by saying that they will be better, but he's glad their offense is as good as it is.
Murray scored 31 points on 9-18 shooting and 5-10 from three. He added six rebounds and 14 assists to go along with his scoring numbers.
Not to be outdone, Nikola Jokic secured another triple double, finishing with 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Finding Chemistry
The Nuggets have a 120.6 offensive rating on the season, which is tops in the league. Their defensive rating is at 116.2, which ranks 21st in the league. The only teams below them are teams outside of the playoff and play-in picture.
Denver has dealt with injuries all season and their opening night starting lineup of Murray, Jokic, Cameron Johnson, Christian Braun, and Aaron Gordon has played just 19 games together.
Their numbers together are encouraging with a 123.8 offensive rating and a 114.6 defensive rating for a 9.2 net rating in 284 total minutes together.
Denver has seven games remaining to keep establishing chemistry, including one more against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and two more against the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs.