The Minnesota Timberwolves pummeled the Denver Nuggets Thursday night to force a Game 7 after winning 115-70 at home. It was a truly dominant performance from the Wolves, who were on the brink of elimination, and a total no-show for a Nuggets team that looked unstoppable in each of their past three wins. The 45-point win was the second largest margin of victory by a team facing elimination in NBA history, and it now sets up a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.
The Nuggets looked like a shell of themselves, in part because of the Wolves' defense, as Denver shot just 30.2% from the field and 19.4% from deep. But one player in particular was especially quiet. Jamal Murray struggled heavily with just 10 points on 4 of 18 from the field. But after the game, Murray revealed that he had an off-shooting night because of an elbow injury he picked up in the opening seconds of the game.
When asked about how much the defensive pressure from Anthony Edwards contributed to his poor shooting night, Murray said his inefficiency was more about his elbow.
"It was more about my elbow at that point," Murray said. "It was offensively for [Edwards]. It wasn't him guarding me. He was scoring on the other end, and scoring at a great rate."
Murray sustained an elbow injury on the second defensive possession in the game. He bumped into Rudy Gobert, who was setting a screen, and began holding his elbow in pain as the play continued. It didn't hinder Murray's minutes, but it appeared to impact his ability to shoot the ball with any sort of efficiency.
Here's how the injury occurred:
When asked if the elbow started to feel better as the game went on, Murray joked that it was evident it didn't after such a bad shooting performance.
"No, clearly not," Murray said. "I put some numbing cream on it just so I didn't have to feel it every time I extended, but everybody gets hurt. [Anthony Edwards] just got hurt. It was just the fact that I was shooting the ball, and that's what I do most. I was never really able to get into my rhythm again. My team obviously needed me to, and I didn't. I'm disappointed in myself for not being able to give them the right production that I know I can."
Whether it was the elbow, Minnesota's defense or a mixture of both, the Nuggets will need Murray to bounce back in Game 7 if they want a chance to eliminate the Timberwolves. Fortunately, he'll have two days between now and Game 7 on Sunday to rest.
"We got two days off," Murray said. "Just got to get ready and be better for Sunday."
Will the two days be enough time? We'll see, but Murray is hoping it'll be enough rest so he can put up a better game than Thursday night.
"I hope for my team's sake that I can get it right," Murray said.
