Inside The Nuggets

Jamal Murray's Honest Statement After Nuggets-Pelicans

The Denver Nuggets took a tough loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

Logan Struck

Nov 15, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) celebrates a basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Nov 15, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) celebrates a basket against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
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After winning five consecutive games, all at home, the Denver Nuggets hit the road to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday for an NBA Cup Group Play matchup.

The Nuggets had to head into New Orleans without superstar center Nikola Jokic, out for personal reasons, and head coach Michael Malone. Missing Jokic for the first time this season and just the fourth time since the start of the 2023-24 season, the Nuggets certainly struggled to come up with offense when needed.

Denver got killed on the boards with the NBA's leading rebounder sidelined, losing the rebound battle 56 to 38. The Pelicans ultimately got the best of Denver, winning 101-94, as star forward Brandon Ingram led the way with 29 points.

Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray spoke to the media following the loss in New Orleans, giving his honest reaction to the game:

"I feel like we executed pretty damn good, we just didn't make shots which we normally make," Murray said. "I think it was a combination of missing shots and not being as solid as we normally are on defense. We will be a lot better next game." Murray continued, "It's not like we played terrible, it's just that we missed the looks we normally make and that made our job that much harder, so it's a little frustrating."

Murray also highlighted the lack of rebounding and how good New Orleans was at crashing the boards. With Jokic out, not only were the Nuggets missing the top rebounder in the NBA, but their funnel on both ends of the court.

The Nuggets shot 10-37 (27%) from deep, their worst shooting performance of the season since opening night.

Murray mentioned how Denver's spacing was off with Jokic sidelined, and without a known timeline for his return to the court, the Nuggets must clean up some of their mistakes and move on to the next game.

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Logan Struck
LOGAN STRUCK

Logan Struck is a writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's On SI since 2023

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