Jamal Murray speaks about how his first round series went against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Denver Nuggets saw their season come to an end on Thursday, losing game six against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Denver lost the series 4-2, losing all three games in Minnesota. The Nuggets had their chaces, but couldn't close out game four despite Minnesota losing Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo in the first half of the game.
In game six, Minnesota was without Edwards, DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu, who scored 43 points in game four.
Though they were shorthanded, the Timberwolves played with physicality, energy, and aggressiveness that was enough to overwhelm Denver, who seemed to have every advantage on the lineup sheet.
Jamal Murray Speaks
Denver needed its two best players to step up to avoid elimination, and while Nikola Jokic struggled, Jamal Murray never got going.
Murray scored just 12 points on 4-17 shooting and 0-2 from three. He was a game worst -18. He scored only four points in the fourth quarter, all at the free throw line.
Speaking after the game, Murray spoke about his struggles in the series.
"It’s on me, I mean, I think I’ve made and you guys have seen me make enough shots, I get to my spots and just unable to convert so that’s the frustrating part. I mean, they’re playing good defense, all these guys are playing physical, trying to chase me around, you know, when I get the looks that I need, you know, then I’ll go down. That’s the frustrating part, just not showing up when my team needed me most tonight and I feel like if I would’ve played a little better we would’ve had that game, so it’s frustrating on my part, you know. It was a rough night and they move on," he said.
Murray was largely guarded by Jaden McDaniels in game six. When McDaniels was on Murray, he scored just two points, shooting 1-6 overall.
Murray Struggles All Playoffs
Murray had the best regular season of his career in 2025-26, averaging a career high in all three major categories with 25.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. He also had career high shooting numbers, going 48% from the field, 43% from three, and an effective field goal percentage of 57%
That all disappeared in the playoffs.
He was limited to 23.7 points, five rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. The shooting numbers tell a bigger story as he shot a playoff career low of 35% from the field on 21.5 attempts per game and 26% from three on seven attempts per game.
Normally a playoff riser and known for his timely shot-making, Murray's struggles throughout the series was one of many reasons the Nuggets saw their season end earlier than most expected.