Denver Nuggets: Jamal Murray ‘learning from the best’

Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets stormed back onto the scene after last week’s tough loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Learning is often a difficult and painful process.

After the Denver Nuggets‘ blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors, nobody felt worse than Jamal Murray. He was outplayed by Stephen Curry, the superstar he’s often compared to, and the Nuggets were laid to waste by the squad they are frequently likened to.

Well, so much for progress, some would say. Yet, one week later, there are no flowers or caskets.

Despite some lingering disappointment, vibes from Nuggets Nation are mostly positive. The squad (31-14) lies within the top pair of Western Conference giants, and may very well capture home-court advantage in the playoffs. The sun still shines bright in the Mile High City.

Regarding The Loss? Well, the Nuggets bounced back. And they bounced back hard, baby.

Two days after the ordeal, Denver dished its frustration onto the Chicago Bulls, dispensing them 135-105. Later in the week, they also slammed the Cleveland Cavaliers, 124-102.

There’s no denying Curry’s dynamic game at Murray’s expense. But the young guard wasted no time reasserting himself. Head coach Mike Malone had advice for Murray following last Tuesday, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

"“Learn from the best,” Malone said."

And it appears Murray did just that, because in the ensuing games, he stole two pages from Chef Curry’s cookbook.

The first page Murray nabbed involves Steph’s killer instinct. Taking this act as his own, Murray shined bright in the next two contests. On Thursday, “Blue Arrow” rode a 22-point third quarter to slam the door on Chicago’s comeback hopes. Two days later, he dropped 16 first-half points on Cleveland, helping Denver to a decisive 70-48 lead at intermission.

The second page Murray took? Nothing less than the blueprint of Steph’s championship makeup. For those who didn’t know, Curry is the league’s best at rebounding from poor performances. Murray bounced back nicely last week, dominating the next two games with 25 and 26 points, respectively. It isn’t a stretch to say he resembled Curry in these games.

Throughout the regular season, it’s easy to ride highs and lows to a disproportionate level. The Nuggets and their fans were ready for the Warriors last week. As it happened, the Dubs opened with the highest-scoring first quarter in NBA history.

Life happens, disappointing as it may be.

This game, in which Golden State played its best ball of 2018-19, is hardly a knock on the Nuggets. Sure, they could have played better defense. But the loss only counts as one. It causes problems only if Denver’s week, month or season is redefined.

Midway through an encouraging growth year, Murray led the Nuggets back to the grindstone. The squad took a Muhammed Ali-like shot to the gut…but still finished the week 3-1.

As the old adage goes, you either win or learn. The Nuggets learned much in their loss to Golden State. Two thrashing victories later, they are right back where they need to be.