Jamal Murray Captured Live Fly During Mavericks-Nuggets Game, Gave It to Doris Burke

The ESPN announcer got more than she bargained for Friday.
Jamal Murray during the Nuggets' 135–122 win over the Heat on Nov. 8, 2024.
Jamal Murray during the Nuggets' 135–122 win over the Heat on Nov. 8, 2024. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray had a decent night in defeat Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 14 points and pulling down five rebounds to go with a season-high 11 assists.

However, he also did something curious that won't show up in the stat sheet.

During the game, Murray captured a fly buzzing around Ball Arena. He then took the live fly, walked it over to the broadcasters' table, and placed it gently in front of ESPN analyst Doris Burke during a stoppage in play.

"I noticed you weren't too eager to grab it," ESPN play-by-play announcer Mike Breen said to a chuckling Burke.

The Nuggets trailed the Mavericks 99–97 when Murray gave Burke the fly, and were outscored 24–23 afterward in a 123–120 loss.

"Ginobili catches bats, Murray catches flies," Breen said, alluding to a 2009 incident where the San Antonio Spurs guard captured a bat in his home arena during a game against the Sacramento Kings.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .