NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 9, 2023

Jamal Murray

Denver Nuggets

Game 4: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 108, Miami Heat 95

Q. You guys have lost four games in this entire run. You haven't gotten to a Game 7. You haven't trailed in a series. Knowing that you have to get one more, has there been any kind of reflection on just how good you guys have been during this run on both ends of the floor?

JAMAL MURRAY: We believed and we knew how good we were for a few years now. So we're just focused, dialed in, and ready to do this thing.

Q. Can you describe what the mentality it takes when you guys are able to thrive in the fourth quarter when Joker gets into foul trouble and goes to the bench and why that didn't faze you?

JAMAL MURRAY: We're just ready to win a championship. We have the tools to do it. It's been on our minds for a while. We're just locked in. I don't think you've got to overthink it. We're just dialed in, ready to win.

Q. Thinking back a couple of years when you guys made the deal to bring in Aaron Gordon, what did you think you were getting in Aaron at that time, and a game like tonight, has the reality matched up to what you thought?

JAMAL MURRAY: I mean, that's why we got him. That's why we got him. He's a dog. He's strong. He's physical. He's tough. He's chill. He brings everybody together off the court, and he's a selfless player. He's been solid this whole Playoffs, this whole season, the whole time he's been here. He's been great.

He just wants to win. We all want to win. I think we're all helping each other try to accomplish our goals.

Q. Four straight 10-assist games and tonight you had a dozen without a turnover. How confident are you and what are you seeing with the defense, being able to orchestrate no matter what they're throwing at you where you maximize every possession?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, tonight it just felt like they were blitzing every pick-and-roll, just basically trying to limit my shot attempts, and I just wasn't fighting it. We've got a squad. We've got a lot of guys that can come and impact the game, a lot of guys playing with confidence, so I'm not going to fight it. Make an easy pass, and that's why I've got four other guys out there.

My guys did a great job. Jeff hit a big three. AG was doing his thing all night. Bruce was hooping. We've got a lot of guys that can come in the game and hoop. You don't have to fight it. I'm not on a team where I've got to force it or hold the ball too long. I'll gladly give up if we're winning games.

Q. So many people focus on your scoring but during your comeback you were focused on when you would run that second unit out there. How did that prepare you for when Joker goes out with five fouls? Tonight when they doubled you, you guys scored 20 points off of passes from you when they doubled you.

JAMAL MURRAY: If Jok goes out, we got five other guys on the court. If I go out, same thing. Everybody is just playing for each other. Game is slowing down. I'm just picking my spots, when to pull up, when to pass, when to drive and get in the teeth of the defense.

I felt like I impacted the game, and I really didn't shoot well. I had a lot of late-shot-clock, four-seconds-left, gotta-get-it-up shots. I'm going to live with those if everybody else is hooping. If I've got to take those for us to get shots every other time, then cool.

Everybody else stepped up and we had a lot of fun playing together. It was a team game and some guys played good for good stretches and some guys didn't and they'd pick it back up. Everyone that got in the game tonight hooped. All our vets gave us good energy on the bench and told us to stay locked in. Like I said, it was a great team effort today.

Q. You mentioned all the vets tonight. KCP, three steals, two blocks. What has he meant for the defense from a communication standpoint?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, he's energy. It's hard to bring that kind of defensive energy every night. He's running corner to corner on offense and guarding their best players, guarding pick-and-rolls, fighting over screens. He brings an energy. When we see him get into guys and into the ball like that, it just picks everybody else's intensity up. He's been doing that all season. Bruce too.

Like I said, team game. Guys were just locked in, just trying to focus on getting the W tonight.

Q. Nikola obviously was in foul trouble tonight, but when he was in he's finding ways to impact the games. We saw him kick the ball a few times and get in the lanes and also just his IQ has been talked about this whole time. I wanted to know if you could talk about his ways to impact a game and during this series how much he's been obsessed with game planning for the Heat here?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, when you play a team numerous times in a row, you've got to know what's coming. They know what we're doing, we know what they're doing. We're going to keep adjusting, mixing things up, but everybody is -- he's locked in. KCP is -- it's a defensive game.

Like I said, last series was up and down, guys were flying. Shots were going up against Phoenix, guys were going up and down. This game was more of execution, no turnovers, rebound, get stops and stay together, and Jok has been just doing a great job of communicating what he's seeing and what we've got to do out there.

Q. When they'll make the documentary of this championship, they'll speak of that moment when Jokic went out. What is your memory like fresh from -- what was going through your head?

JAMAL MURRAY: I don't know. I wasn't even -- I don't know. I wasn't paying attention. Just whoever is out there is out there. It's not the first time he's sat down in the game before. So guys were just stepping up, making shots, playing the right way and having fun. Everybody came in the game and impacted it in a positive way. Yeah, everybody just stayed calm and played basketball.

Q. Looking back a few years ago, have you ever imagined you would be here in this position, being one of the stars of the team?

JAMAL MURRAY: Oh, yeah. I imagined being here when I was very young. Just having fun and making the most of the moment. Yeah, it's been a long time. I think not just for me but for everybody -- most guys that play basketball, this is where you want to be. I think we're all just locked in and trying to get this done.

Q. Jamal, you guys have allowed 93, 94, 95 points in each of these three Finals wins. How much difference has it made to becoming a more defensive-minded team over the course of this time period with you guys over these years?

JAMAL MURRAY: Yeah, like I said, it's a different series. I don't know what LA scored every game, but the game felt a lot more up and down. This one feels -- like we're getting stops but they're getting back, as well. Coming down, I'm getting to the rim, getting chased down. We've got to slow down, execute. Lowry is doing a good job of calling what we're doing.

But we're all on a string. Everybody is rotating for each other. Even if we make a mistake, somebody is there to step up, and if that person makes a mistake, somebody else is there. Even if we don't get the stop, we're all in the right mindset. I think we're doing a good job of just playing for each other on both ends of the floor.