Jamal Murray channels inner Steph curry vs Lakers, NBA fans praise nuggets star

Jamal Murray's stunning performance helped lift the Denver Nuggets to their 114-106 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday (Wednesday IST). The Nuggets, having made it this far in the playoffs with their comebacks, cut the Lakers' Western Conference Finals lead to 2-1. Murray's game was celebrated by fans on Twitter, earning him comparisons to Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, who is arguably the best shooter in NBA history. 

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Jamal Murray points: Fans react to Murray's crunch-time three-pointers and Curry-like shimmy

Jamal Murray is officially on my Steph Curry/Damian Lillard "when he's on fire, only an asteroid hitting the earth can make me change the channel" list.

— Jawob Murray (@WorldWideWob)

Jamal Murray is UNREAL!!!!!! That was a Steph Curry type shot

— Jeremy Nicolls (@JeremyNicolls)

Jamal Murray went full Steph Curry right there

Cashed a deep three, hit em with a shimmy, AND beat LeBron James

— Dr. Guru 💯 (@DrGuru_)

It's not crazy to compare 2014 Steph Curry to 2020 Jamal Murray, here are their playoff numbers:

Curry 28 pts, 5 rbs, 6.4 ast, 1.9 stl (.456, .422, .835)
Murray 26.6 pts, 4.8 rbs, 6.1 ast, .9 stl (.500, .475, .914)

Raw numbers very similar, Murray slightly more efficient. https://t.co/wA6GB4x2It

— Jacob Roggero (@JacobRoggero)

Jamal Murray really Canadian Steph Curry

— Zyzz- Mahomes to Kelce (@WeTheNorth91)

"Jamal Murray went full Steph Curry right there. Cashed a deep three, hit em with a shimmy, AND beat LeBron James," one user wrote on Twitter. Murray extended the Nuggets lead in the final quarter with his three-pointer, even shimmying like the Warriors star. Murray scored 28 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets while shooting an impressive 50% from the three-point line. "Jamal Murray is UNREAL!!!!!! That was a Steph Curry type shot," wrote another user. 

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Jamal Murray elbows LeBron James

Jamal Murray just elbowed Bron in the face pic.twitter.com/8fnsCl7h8n

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral)

Lakers vs Nuggets highlights: Murray, Nuggets cut Lakers lead to 2-1

Despite LeBron James' 26th playoff triple-double, the Lakers were unable to overcome the Nuggets lead. Though the Lakers managed to cut the Nuggets 20-point lead, Murray's late three-pointers and one incredible assist to Paul Millsap maintained their lead. "Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we're not ready to go," coach Michael Malone said, before adding that they love the bubble. 

"We feel that we should be up 2-1 right now, to be honest," Murray said, explaining that they will be moving on to the Game 4. While the Nuggets have overcome two 3-1 deficits this season, no team has overcome a 3-0 deficit yet. LeBron James too, accepted that while they played well in the fourth quarter, the initial 36 minutes hurt. Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday, 9:00 PM EST (Friday, 6:30 AM IST). 

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• LeBron James points: 30 PTS, 10 REB, 11 ASTS
• Jamal Murray points: 28 PTS, 8 REBS, 12 ASTS
• Anthony Davis points: 27 PTS, 2 REBS, 1 AST
• Jerami Grant points: 26 PTS, 3 REBS, 1 AST
• Nikola Jokic points: 22 PTS, 10 REBS, 5 ASTS
• Monte Morris points: 14 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST
• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope points: 12 PTS, 3 REBS, 1 AST
• Kyle Kuzma points: 11 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST

Also read | Jamal Murray, Nuggets hang on to win, cut Lakers' lead to 2-1: Lakers vs Nuggets highlights

(Image credits: AP)