The New York Knicks blew out the Denver Nuggets 145-118 at Ball Arena on Monday night, and Jamal Murray was quite critical of the team postgame. Murray stated that the Nuggets lacked focus and energy in this loss to the Knicks.
“It’s a long season,” Murray said. “Guys have lives outside of basketball. We just beat LA in LA. We’ve got some guys who live in LA, so stayed in LA. And like I said, I don’t think the focus was there from everybody and that’s what happens when you don’t have the focus.
“Like I said, it’s not on coach, it’s not on the plays we’re running, it’s not on anybody else but the guys that are out there on the court,” Murray continued. “Like I said, it’s a tough one to go back and watch or even accept, but it was expected.
“If that’s the kind of energy the whole team is going to bring to start the game and continuously not have a response, then that’s what happens,” Murray added. “We’ve been on the other side of it, I’ve been on the other side of it, and tonight, we were on the wrong end of it.”
Jamal Murray: "It's a long season. Guys have lives outside of basketball. We just beat LA in LA. We've got some guys who live in LA, so stayed in LA. I don't think the focus was there from everybody, and that's what happens when you don't have the focus." pic.twitter.com/FG0QFtq4We
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 26, 2024
Murray’s comments didn’t go down too well among Nuggets fans. The 27-year-old gave them the impression that he was blaming the ones who stayed in Los Angeles after Saturday’s 127-102 win over the Lakers for this result.
What made Murray saying this even worse were his own actions earlier this month. In between road games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 15 and Nov. 17 respectively, he flew to New York to attend UFC 309 on Nov. 16. He didn’t score even 20 points in either of those games and the Nuggets lost both of them.
Considering all that, Murray was called out for lacking self-awareness. With all the backlash coming his way, he took to X to reveal everyone stayed back in Los Angeles and that he wasn’t trying to deflect blame.
“We all stayed in LA BTW! and had a great win. Not excluding myself guys, we didn’t play together tonight.”
Murray certainly does have to take some of the blame for this loss to the Knicks, as he had just 20 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal in the contest. The guard went 6-13 from the field, 1-5 from three, and 7-9 from the line as the Nuggets dropped to 9-7 in 2024-25.
The Nuggets have not had a great start to this season and Murray’s play is a big reason for that. He has averaged only 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game and has shot 40.2% from the field (career-worst) and 33.7% from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets gave Murray a four-year, $208 million extension this past offseason and it’s looking like a big mistake as of now. I do back him to find his groove eventually but the team would certainly like it to happen sooner rather than later.
Murray and the Nuggets will take on the Utah Jazz next at Delta Center on Wednesday at 9 PM ET. They won the first meeting between the sides by 26 points and I expect another comfortable victory in this second one.
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