NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 1, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Game 1: Postgame

Nuggets 104, Heat 93

Q. It seems like in every series you guys are able to answer critical runs at the best time in the fourth quarter. What do you think it says about the team's poise to be able to do that time after time again?

JAMAL MURRAY: It's something that we've been working on, just bouncing back after runs, timeouts locking back in. So, I thought we did a good job of just executing after they went on runs.

Q. What do you think was the key to keeping this level in all the series in this playoffs? How do you keep doing this and you don't go down in the bad moments of the team?

JAMAL MURRAY: Because we have a big goal in mind. You can't dwell on the negative. If they're playing well, you've got to just do better and be in a better mindset to do it. You can't hang your head every timeout.

So, I thought we did a good job after timeouts just coming in locked in. No matter what they do, just executing, and playing the way we play.

Q. Are your knees okay?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah. Thank you for asking.

Q. Jamal, Mike kind of struggled a little bit from the three-point line but he impacted the game in a lot of different ways. What did you think of his night overall and just the fact that he seems to have developed far more than just a jump shooter?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, he's done amazing. Just like playing an all-around game, 12 boards, 14 points with basically one or two threes, getting to the rim, playing great defense, pursuing the ball. He's 6-10, he's doing more than just knocking down shots, and that's dangerous. When he's doing that, he's helping us a lot just being on the wing.

Even if he's not shooting well, he's going to keep shooting and we're going to keep finding him.

Q. Much was made of Jokic not taking a lot of shots early, letting everybody else work themselves into the game, but it seems like he still plays with a lot of force and aggression. I was wondering, do you see a cumulative effect? Do you see opponents wear down over the course of games and series because of how physical he is?

JAMAL MURRAY: That's just the way he plays the game. If the team is rolling, that's just how you play basketball. If everybody else is scoring, then there's no need to force it. He's a great passer, great facilitator. They're digging, they're doubling, they're trying not to let him score.

So, he's just playing the game and other guys are playing well. That's just the way he plays. Just let the game kind of come to him.

Q. Is it a physical thing where he wears opponents down?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, he's a heavy guy. He's going to get boards and rebound the ball and just be physical down there regardless. Even if he's not shooting well or not scoring well, he's still a load down there.

Q. You guys seemed to have an emphasis on trying to get points in the paint, trying to get duck-ins, things with Aaron, things with Michael, not trying to let them off the hook when they're playing small. Is that something that was kind of pre-planned coming in or was that just something just playing the game?

JAMAL MURRAY: Just playing the game. Whoever is open, whoever has the mismatch, that's just the way we play. If it's not Jokic, it's AG set the tone today. Sometimes I set the tone. Sometimes K is setting the tone. It could be anybody.

I thought AG just did a good job of making an adjustment early in the game, just being tough down there and just being relentless. I think that set the tone for us to start the game.

Q. You guys are known probably more for your offense, but several times in the playoffs you've held elite scorers and elite teams to under 100 points, and that doesn't really happen much in the NBA anymore. What do you take that success from, and do you feel like you guys don't get enough credit for your defense?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, I think we do a good job defensively just flying around, being on a string, not just tonight but all playoffs, all season. You can't be the No. 1 seed with just offense. That's hard to do.

Jokic has great hands down there. KCP is aggressive. Bruce is one of the best defenders. AG is one of the best defenders. So, we've got a lot of guys -- CB, we don't think he's a rookie. So, we've got a lot of guys that can come in and impact the game on defense and do a lot better than you think.

Q. You've talked about how it doesn't matter what defenses throw at you guys, you've been ready and handled everything. It just seemed like tonight was a perfect example of how you can win games in any form or fashion. Joker only takes five shots through three quarters. Do you feel like you guys can win games in so many different ways?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, we're just reading the game. If they take the pocket away, we're looking somewhere else. If they take me away, then we're looking somewhere else. We're just trying to find the open man, find the best shot, find the mismatch. I think we do that throughout the game.

So, it's hard to guard everybody, instead of just one or two guys. We make you have to be locked in on defense throughout the game. I think tonight was just a great example of it could be anybody's night and anybody's quarter, maybe not your quarter. That's just Nuggets basketball.

Q. They mentioned Joker's 14 assists. You had 10. Why do you think the facilitating, the distributing was so effective for you two tonight?

JAMAL MURRAY: Just ball movement. Playing Nuggets basketball. That's just the way we play. Find the open man, hit the open man, take the open shot. I think we do a good job of just keeping the ball hopping, and during our offense it doesn't get stagnant. It's tough to guard, like I said, everybody instead of just one or two guys, and that's why the guys are getting open shots.

Q. What did you learn about Mike as a person over the last year when you spent so much time together rehabbing?

JAMAL MURRAY: Hard worker, loves basketball, dedicated. I don't think he gets enough credit for how well he's played through, how many injuries he's been through. We were out together for a while, and just to see him bounce back, every time that he's been hurt, I think he's pretty impressive. He's only getting better.

Shout-out to Mike. He's done a great job just having an all-around game. Even when he's not shooting the ball well, he's impacting the game in different ways. We going to need more of that. He's done a great job, not just this game but all year, of impacting the game.

Q. The Heat during these playoffs had opened three straight series with road victories. How determined were you to protect the home court and especially considering how hard this team worked to get home court, how much satisfaction do you take in the 9-0 record at home in the Playoffs?

JAMAL MURRAY: Have we lost one?

Q. No.

JAMAL MURRAY: I think we're doing a good job.

Q. You have played over 10,000 minutes with Nikola Jokic. How did it feel to make your Finals debut with him?

JAMAL MURRAY: It was cool. Finals, Eastern Conference, first round, second round, we just want to win a championship, doesn't matter what series. I think it's just fluent, beautiful basketball. The ball is hopping and we're just playing off each other. You can have a great game with only five shots until the fourth.

Just making reads on the basketball court. I think that's the beauty of what this team is, we have so many different weapons and so many different looks, like I said, you've got to guard to everybody. Jokic dominated until the fourth quarter, and it didn't even feel like it.

Yeah, it's free flowing, and it's a lot of fun.

Q. You talk about that free flowing, you talk about the team buy-in. How much confidence does that give you and how much confidence does that give some of the other guys on the floor when everybody has bought in this way?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, a lot of confidence. We had eight new guys come to this team at the start of the year. I thought we did a great job of building the chemistry and continuity of how we want to play, and everybody is buying in, and you could see it's paying off if we just play the right way, everybody stay patient, you're going to get good looks, get good shots.

Our core has been playing like this for years, from Mike to me, to Jokic, Mike, we've been doing this for a while. Our timing is great, and our pace is great, so I think it's just almost natural, the way we play. Our reads, it's not a stagnant offense, it's not a set offense. If somebody else is open, we play it through. It's nice to make reads like that during the game instead of just running a set play and just kind of just go through the motions.

Q. The Heat like to switch out the defense man to zone, zone to man. What kind of preparation have you done to solve this problem tonight?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, this did a great job of just junking up the game -- zone, press, man, double, no double. We knew they were going to do that. That's how they play and that's how they win games, is just be relentless in that sense. They had that 8-0 run to start the fourth, and we just locked back in and took care of the ball and found the best shot. I think once we do that, once we play the way we play, it doesn't really matter what the other team does.

So, a lot of the focus is on ourselves and not turning the ball over and giving them one shot.

Q. You got going it seemed like with some pretty easy buckets. Do you chalk that up to the size advantage you had or was it just Jokic finding you off cuts or something else?

JAMAL MURRAY: No, those are sets. We're making reads. Like I said, we're just making reads. If I'm not open, somebody else is open if I cut.

Just making reads, playing basketball, and had nine days off, so got to show off my little left leg over there.