Murray was 'absolutely not' missing Nuggets win over Thunder despite illness

The 28-year-old woke up feeling unwell, but recovered to drop 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a series-tying 119-107 victory, which leaves it all down to the final game.

"Absolutely not," he said, as quoted by ESPN, when asked if there was any chance of him being unavailable for the game.

"Once the game starts, the team needs you and the adrenaline kicks in. You see a couple of shots going in and you just suck it up and play through it."

Murray was not actually cleared to play in the game until 45 minutes before tip-off after receiving treatment all day, which included intravenous fluids.

"He opened the game really good for us, and he set the tone, but I don't think this [illness] affected him at all," said Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who registered a double-double with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.

"When you play the game, I think you don't think about what you have or whatever is the problem."

NOT DONE YET#MileHighPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/c7PfZqlXdq

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 16, 2025

Nuggets coach David Adelman, meanwhile, acknowledged that it was not an easy watch in the early moments of the game.

"I kind of was watching the first six minutes [thinking], 'Is this real? Can he do it?'" he said.

"I thought he had good energy and good juice. There was a couple of times where he really wanted to go back to get the ball. He was so gassed, having a hard time breathing.

"But that's Jamal Murray. It's almost like the worse it is, the better off it's going to be. And what a tough-minded, tough-minded man."

For Thunder star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished on 32 points and six assists, he was disappointed at the game getting away from his team.