What happened to Jamal Murray? Nuggets guard exits game against Timberwolves

Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray exited with 9:28 remaining in the third quarter after colliding with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle. “Glitch,” guarded by Anthony Edwards, set a pick for Aaron Gordon in the keyhole. Randle rammed into Murray to keep in step with the cutting Gordon.

After the hit, Murray slowly went to the sidelines grimacing in pain. The Nuggets training staff had to help him to the locker room. Before the fourth quarter, the team announced that Murray would not return on Friday after suffering a concussion.

The Canadian had another underwhelming performance, finishing with six points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes. Former MVP Russell Westbrook took over his spot for most of the second half. Westbrook had more impact and ended with five points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.

The Denver Nuggets lost 119-116 in the first meeting between the two teams following their epic seven-game Western Conference semifinal series last season.

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When will Jamal Murray return?

The NBA does not provide a specific time frame for a player to be cleared from the concussion protocol. At the very least, he will be unavailable for basketball-related activities in the next 48 hours. The league rule book states that players normally get the green light to play after seven days. Based on the ruling, Jamal Murray could be sidelined for a week.

The Denver Nuggets have four games in seven days, which means Nikola Jokic and Co. need to adjust to playing without their starting point guard. They go against the Utah Jazz in less than 24 hours before playing every other day. The Toronto Raptors, OKC Thunder and Miami Heat are their other opponents during Murray’s expected recovery period.

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Jamal Murray has been struggling for months

Jamal Murray’s struggles arguably started in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. He averaged 18.4 points but shot 40.3%, including 33.3% from deep in that series. Murray’s inefficiency continued in the Olympics for Canada. He hardly resembled the player that helped the Nuggets win the 2023 NBA championship.

In five games this season, he is averaging 18.8 points behind a 37.9% shooting clip. Before the playoffs last season, he put up 21.3 PPG, on 48.1% shooting and hit 42.5% of his 3-pointers. The drop in efficiency has been a significant reason the Denver Nuggets are 2-3.