Jamal Murray forces OT to buzzer, Nuggets earn first win in Toronto

TORONTO – When the Nuggets arrived in Canada with more pressure than they ever should in any third game of a season, they had a chance to put their poor start behind them in Denver.

Instead, they're making it back through US customs and into Brooklyn, where they'll face the Nets on Tuesday in a row – albeit with their spirits unimaginably heightened after a 127-125 overtime win over the Raptors on Monday night.

“It felt like a playoff game in the third game of the season,” coach Michael Malone said.

Jamal Murray, the hometown boy who received a warm welcome even after his troubles with the Canadian national team this summer, drove the baseline for a game-winning reverse layup with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, completing a 13: 3-run in the last two games minutes, 10 seconds. Murray was 4 of 15 for 12 points before the final stretch, which gave him his only points of the fourth quarter and his first made field goal since the 10:34 mark of the third quarter.

“We know we have the best post-up player in the world. Let's play through it; Let him make the right decision,” Malone said of the final play call of regulation time. “And obviously he and Jamal played off each other. Jamal finishes great with the reverse layup.”

The dramatic run began with a three-pointer from Christian Braun. It ended with a somewhat unorthodox game management plan. The Nuggets avoided their first 0-3 start of Nikola Jokic's career and Malone's coaching tenure by deliberately hoping for two points in a game in which they trailed by three points with 21 seconds left. Jokic scored on a post-up, then Denver sent Davion Mitchell back to the foul line after missing by half a pair. He did this again, giving the visitors a chance to force overtime without having to rely on their supposed Achilles heel, the 3-point shot.

“There’s so much time on the clock. I didn’t feel like we needed to rush with more than 20 seconds on the clock, and you’ve got Nikola Jokic,” Malone said. “…If you try the three-pointer and miss, then you have to commit a foul, now maybe the game starts to get away from you a little bit. Three down with plenty of time, let's get two quick. And that's what we did. Now play the theft game. Theft, foul play. And they missed another free throw. … Everything worked out in our favor.”

Outside shooting wasn't the Nuggets' weakness this time. Embarrassed by their own failure to win in the paint, where they were supposed to have their greatest advantage, they dug another double-digit hole despite making most of their 3s. They finished the night 9-for-20 from distance, including a Jokic dagger that doubled the lead in overtime. He scored 40 points (on 18-for-27 shooting) for the second straight season after doing so three times throughout the 2023-24 season.

The second highest scorers in Denver were Braun and Murray with 17 points each.

“Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet because I've played so many games, but just being at home, of course I have some of my best friends here. Friends and family,” Murray said. “So it’s always cool, you know. We only come here once a year. … It was just nice to have that moment and be able to look back on it. I don't know. Maybe I hit a shot like that (in Toronto). … Maybe not.”

The Nuggets again played from behind for most of the night. They shot 54% from the floor and 5 for 8 from beyond the arc in the first half and even got to the foul line twice as often as the hosts. But they still trailed 62-54 because Toronto outgained them 42-28 in the lane and made 12 more field goals in the half, a tally that Malone's team attributed in part to its 12 turnovers.

This time it wasn't just the bank. Denver's starting lineup was to blame, as the Raptors quickly increased their lead to 15 early in the second half. And it was to blame for Malone's early emergency timeout after the Raptors scored on their first six possessions of the game.

“I think it just kind of blows the dust off a little bit, I guess,” Aaron Gordon said. “I think that’s what it really comes down to. We’ll be a well-oiled machine when it matters most.”

Malone's game-to-game adjustments continued. From the first to the second unit, it was the decision which player he chose to stagger with the second unit. Michael Porter Jr. replaced Murray in the lineup to “spread the floor and give opponents a different look,” he explained Monday before the game. He also mentioned that this would allow Murray to stay in rhythm, referencing his own pre-season comment that Murray's usual substitution pattern could be “chopped up”. The problem: Murray still shot 6 for 20 from the field in his last home game in Ontario, even when he made the most important shot of the night.