What happened to Jamal Murray? Latest injury update as Nuggets guard exits game vs Heat (February 29)

Jamal Murray exited Thursday's 2023 NBA Finals rematch between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat with an apparent right ankle injury. The incident occurred late in the second quarter, with three minutes left. Murray drove into the lane for a kick out to Nikola Jokic. He made the pass but landed awkwardly and rolled his right ankle.

He was questionable to return, but the Nuggets have ruled the star guard out.

Here's the play of his injury:

It's a big blow for the Nuggets and Murray. The latter had a healthy comeback year in 2022-23 after missing one and a half years of action with an ACL tear. He guided the team to a championship.

However, the 2023-24 season has been overshadowed by injuries. Murray has missed 16 games already. He's dealt with various ailments to his quad, tibia, hamstring, knee and ankle.

Murray is critical to the Nuggets' hope of defending their title. He was huge to their run in 2023. Denver will hope it's a short-term issue, especially with only 20+ games left in the regular season.

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Who will replace Jamal Murray in the starting lineup?

Jamal Murray's absence could see the Denver Nuggets turn to Reggie Jackson. The veteran has run point in Murray's 16 absences this season. He's also starting the second half of the Heat-Nuggets game.

Jackson has proved reliable in these situations. In those 16 games, Jackson averaged 16.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 53/44/72 splits. The Nuggets went 9-7 in those games, though.

The race atop the Western Conference standings is heating up, and for Denver, homecourt advantage could be a game-changer in the playoffs because of the altitude. It was integral to their success last year.

The Nuggets (40-19) are two games back of the first seed in third place so it's well within their reach to acquire the top spot. However, Jamal Murray's potential absence could limit Denver's ceiling.

It will be tough to replace the connection he's developed with Nikola Jokic, especially in the clutch along with his 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game on 48/42/86 splits.