Canadian Jamal Murray continues breakout with career-best game

Jamal Murray racked-up a career-high 38 points to help propel the Denver Nuggets to the 104-101 victory over the Portland Trailblazers Monday to snap a two-game losing streak.

In the process the Kitchener native shattered his previous career-high by six points.

He scored 17 points in the first half, and finished the game shooting 14-of-19 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-6 from the free throw line – including the decisive And-1 play with less than a minute to go. Murray also dished out six assists and pulled down five rebounds in the contest.

The 20-year-old’s superhero-type day allowed him to make his mark in Denver’s record books as well. His Monday night performance made him the youngest Nugget to score 35 or more points in a single game since Carmelo Anthony back in 2003.

That is back-to-back 30-point performances for Murray, for the first time in his NBA career.

He’s the first Nugget since Carmelo Anthony in the 2010-11 season to score at least 30 points, and record five rebounds and two assists in back-to-back games. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, the only other rookie or sophomore players to reach those same totals are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffon, Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Pretty good company for the Canadian guard.

In addition, he’s shot a whopping 66.6 percent from the field – including 64.3 percent from 3-point land – in his last two games. In those games, Murray has hit nine 3-pointers and for a player known for his classic bow and arrow 3-point celebration, he’s had a lot to celebrate.

Murray is tied for sixth in the league in 3-pointers made, making him the youngest player on the top 50 list.

In this second year in the NBA, Murray is averaging 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He’s the second highest scoring Canadian in the league, two points per game behind Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins.

And after being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie team for the 2016-2017 season, and winning the MVP award at last year’s Rising Stars Challenge during All Star Weekend — scoring a game-high 36 points in the USA vs. World game — no one is shocked at how well he’s adjusting to the league.

Murray was drafted seventh overall to Denver last year after playing one year at Kentucky University where he averaged 20 points per game and earned first-team All-SEC honours.

The 20-year-old has also represented Team Canada since 2013, earning a silver medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games alongside teammates like Andrew Nicholson, Anthony Bennett and Brady Heslip. Throughout that tournament, which was hosted in Toronto, Murray averaged 16 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Murray and the Denver Nuggets will suit up again on Thursday night against the New York Knicks.

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