Wednesday 17 April 2019 12:13, UK
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said Jamal Murray's spectacular 21-point fourth-quarter performance was "the first of many" following Denver's 114-105 Game 2 win over the Spurs.
Murray flopped in the Nuggets' 101-96 Game 1 loss to the Spurs on Saturday night, missing 15 of his 23 shots. His shooting woes continued into Game 2 as he missed his first eight shots of the game.
However, Murray found his range in the fourth quarter, erupting for 21 of his 24 points during a red-hot stretch as the Nuggets erased a 19-point deficit to level the first-round series at one game apiece.
"[Jamal] was so frustrated at half-time," said Malone. "Not making shots, shots that he has made his whole career."
"I just grabbed him and said 'hey, take a deep breath, you're putting so much pressure on yourself, like every shot right now is the end of the world. I believe in you, just go out there and play'.
Sign up and register to win prizes by making your NBA Playoff predictions
"I didn't foresee the fourth quarter he was going to have but I knew in my heart he needed to get those minutes and he needed to be out there. I needed to show him that I believed in him.
"I was really happy for Jamal to step up and close the game with his shotmaking down the stretch. The first of many for Jamal Murray, I have no doubt."
Murray, who made two huge three-pointers inside the final three minutes to seal the win for Denver, reflected on his cold start to the game and credited his team-mates for helping him break out of his slump.
"My shots didn't drop," he said. "I wasn't forcing too much, it just wasn't going my way for three quarters. But everybody had my back. Everybody believed in me. When you look at the crowd and everybody is going crazy, you just feed off it. It's a lot of fun.
"We trust each other and we believe in one another. We stick with it no matter what happens. The game keeps challenging us and we keep accepting."
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich admitted his team's failure to quell Murray's late momentum was the killer blow for his team.
"Tough to win a game on the road in the playoffs if you are going to give up 39 points [in the fourth quarter]," he said.
"[Nuggets forward] Paul (Millsap) and Jamal had a lot to do with that, obviously.
"They hurt us badly and we didn't have any answers for either of them."
Game three takes place in San Antonio in the early hours of Friday morning (2am).
