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Jamal Murray was the first Denver Nuggets player to say he would play after the team sat on its plane in Mexico City for about six hours, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post reported.
Mechanical problems kept the Nuggets on the ground Saturday night and into early Sunday as they tried to fly to Houston. Nuggets coach David Adelman then texted his five starters, Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokić, along with DeMar DeRozan. He asked how they were doing physically and mentally. In effect, the text offered them a night off.
All six were initially questionable. Murray said he would play, and the rest followed.
“I don’t think anybody even batted an eye at the text,” Braun said, according to Durando. “I know Jamal was the first one to speak up.”
The players understood how much the game mattered in the standings, Braun said. He credited Murray’s desire to win and his improved defense. Gordon said he felt good physically and was more concerned about winning. His offseason recovery, he said, was aimed at being ready to play in May and June.
Jamal Murray Scores 38 As Houston Rockets Beat Nuggets 110-100
The Houston Rockets won the game 110-100 on Monday. Houston led by 8 after the first quarter and 54-40 at halftime, Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette reported, and Denver tied it in the third quarter before losing.
Murray scored 38 points in 39:12, according to the Basketball-Reference box score. He shot 14-of-23 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and he made all 5 of his free throws. Fifteen of those points came in the fourth quarter. He finished plus-1 with 2 blocks and 1 steal.
Jokić had 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists. He shot 11-of-21, going 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and was minus-2. Six of his points came in the fourth quarter.
Together, Murray and Jokić scored 63 points on 25-of-44 shooting.
Denver’s Other Starters And Bench Against The Rockets
No other Nuggets player reached double figures, Benedetto reported. Johnson was third on the team with 8 points.
Johnson made 2 of his 6 shots, and both came from 3-point range. He had 2 turnovers in 30:42. Braun scored 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting, missed all four of his 3-point attempts, and finished with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. In 30:09, Gordon scored 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting with 3 turnovers and 5 fouls. He was plus-6.
Braun, Johnson, and Gordon combined for 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting. None of the three scored in the fourth quarter.
Houston outscored Denver 46-40 in the paint and finished with an 18-point advantage from 3-point range.
Off the bench, DeRozan scored 7 points on 8 shots and 3 free throws and was minus-16. Tyus Jones played 5:35 and was minus-11. Spencer Jones was minus-19. In his takeaways from the game, Benedetto raised a nine-man rotation as one possibility, along with minutes for Bryce Hopkins or Alpha Diallo.
The loss dropped Denver to 5-4, including 0-4 against Western Conference teams with winning records. The Nuggets play at the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. They face the Boston Celtics on Nov. 18 and the Rockets again on Nov. 20.
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