You couldn't write a better story.
The Denver Nuggets officially advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-106, on Monday. There, they'll play the Minnesota Timberwolves, who absolutely decimated the Phoenix Suns in a round one sweep.
"Shout out to Lakers, man, they gave us a great series. It was a lot of fun," Jamal Murray said after the Game 5 victory.
"Iron sharpens iron, man, and [the Lakers] forced us to dig deep and find different ways to beat them," head coach Michael Malone said after the win. "You want to be tested... This series definitely has gotten us ready for the Minnesota series."
The night ended in heroics, but let's set the stage a bit. Here's how we got to the final buzzer of Monday's incredible victory.
Denver mounted a 3-0 series lead against the Lakers but then lost on the road in Game 4. No team had ever blown a 3-0 series lead in NBA playoff history, so the odds were still in Denver's favor. But still, they'd need to get the job done at home. Dropping Game 5 and allowing the series to travel back to Los Angeles was a dangerous, dangerous game, and letting things come down to a Game 7 was even more untenable. At that point, it's anyone's series.
The biggest story heading into Monday was Murray. He was listed as questionable on Denver's injury report on Sunday afternoon with a calf strain. Murray was seen grabbing at his left leg throughout the fourth quarter of Saturday's Game 4, so it was clearly serious. Coach Malone said pregame that Murray was a game-time decision, but after going through his routine, Murray said he was ready to suit up.
"I didn't want to leave my teammates out there. We've been battling all season. Everybody's hurt at some point," Murray said. "I just wouldn't even be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to play this game."
Murray gutted out that calf strain in the first half and paced the Nuggets with 16 points on 3 made three-pointers. The Nuggets shot incredibly well from three-point land at 42.1 percent, and yet still, the Lakers managed to build a first-half lead for the fifth consecutive game. Two straight buckets from Nikola Jokić and a massive corner three from Aaron Gordon cut the Lakers lead to just 3 points at the break.
Los Angeles took their largest lead of the game with a 9-point advantage in the third quarter, but then Jokić hit a huge three-pointer to get his Nuggets on a run. Michael Porter Jr. attacked the basket for a layup after being run off the three-point line, and then he hit a huge three-pointer when Jokić was double-teamed in the post. That helped Denver go on an 18-5 run and eventually take a 5-point lead.
The Lakers had no plans of giving up and went on a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter thanks to some heroic shot-making from LeBron James. Two huge three-pointers from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Porter Jr. staved off the run, but Los Angeles eventually took a 1-point lead.
Then, something unbelievable happened. Murray, calf strain and all, hammered a dunk over the top of James. That got the Ball Arena crowd roaring with glee.
He followed that up with another layup through a sea of Gold and Purple jerseys. The Lakers had one last push in them, and James made a layup with just over a minute remaining to give his squad a one-point lead. On the very next possession, Murray hoisted a midrange shot over Anthony Davis that missed, but Gordon secured a massive rebound and kicked the ball back out to Murray. One thing about Jamal... he's not going to miss a big shot in a tight game twice.
James drew a foul and hit two free throws to tie the game, and with 22 seconds remaining, Malone chose to not call a timeout. He instead let his point guard, Murray, take the ball up for the very last shot... just like he did in Game 2.
With 7 seconds remaining, Murray and Jokić linked up for their bread-and-butter pick-and-roll, the play that brought the first-ever championship to the Rocky Mountains.
"My biggest thing was jumping. It was tough for me to leave the ground. Even on jump shots," Murray said after the game.
But in that moment, Murray summoned something supernatural. Something we mortals can't explain. Jamal jumped off his left leg—the same leg that had his status in question before Game 5—and drained a fadeaway jumper. A game-winner. His second of the series.
Murray finished the night with 32 points. It was an incredibly gritty performance from the 27-year-old to send the Lakers home.
"For Jamal to add to his playoff lore by having two game-winners in a series is just incredible," Malone said. "The kid's a warrior, man. I can't say enough good things about Jamal Murray. The bigger the moment, the kid just continues to shine, and I'm proud of him. One tough cookie."
As we said, you couldn't write a better story. Just when you count him out, THAT is when Jamal Murray is at his strongest.