Nuggets star joins rare playoff club with LeBron, Curry and Jokic not even MJ or Bird could get in
Playoff Jamal Murray is a different beast.
The Denver Nuggets superstar averaged a respectable 21.4 points, six assists and 3.9 rebounds in the regular season.
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But in a close series against the Los Angeles Clippers, he has upped his game across the board with 24.6 points, 6.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds through five games.
Over his career, Murray is in an elite club of five players to post 24-plus points, six-plus assists and four-plus rebounds per game over at least 70 postseason appearances.
The others? Jerry West, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokić.
Not even the great Michael Jordan makes the cut despite the six-time champion dominating when titles were on the line.
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In Game 5, Murray piled on 43 points in a resounding 131-115 victory as Jokić took a back seat with just 13, although 'Joker' had 10 rebounds and 12 assists for a triple-double.
Clippers coach Ty Lue sang the praises of the man they call 'Glitch' after seeing his team dominated from tip-off.
“The tough start was Jamal Murray,” he said. “I thought he came out being aggressive, which we knew he would. That’s why we started off with a blitz against him, just to slow him down.
"We knew in Game 5 he would come out aggressive, and he made every shot.
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"We did everything. We blitzed him, we dropped, we switched, we did a lot of different coverages, but he had a hell of a game.
"Holding Joker to 13 points and losing the game is tough. But that’s how they beat you.
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"If you worry about him too much, other guys can beat you. But I just thought Jamal Murray was excellent tonight.”
Murray passed Jokić to break the franchise record with his sixth 40-plus-point playoff game.
And Joker was happy to watch his teammate in full flow.
"Yeah. I mean, it's great. It was not my night, and I have nothing like that's fine," he said.
"I'm going to try to do whatever I need to do to win the game. I think everybody needs to accept that. If it’s not your night, do whatever you need to do to win the game.
"Of course, always when he's in that mood, he's really, really dangerous and dominant. He did a really good job tonight."
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With Russell Westbrook also on form and Joker dominating the boards, Denver is looking a strong contender.
“When he's aggressive, we're a different team,” Westbrook said of Murray. “When he's got that swagger and he's going out and competing at the level he did tonight, we're a tough team to beat."
Game 6 is Thursday night at the Intuit Dome, with victory enough to set up a Western Conference semifinal against the top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder.
But the Clippers will be up for a fight on their state-of-the-art new court looking to set up a decider in Denver.
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As for MJ not joining the exclusive club, the Bulls great averaged 33.4 points in the playoffs over his storied career but had 5.7 assists per game.
Close, but no cigar.
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