Returning Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard star in their NBA play-off victories

DENVER – After missing the last two post-seasons, Jamal Murray returned to the play-offs in style, leading the Denver Nuggets with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-80 in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference series.

The last time the 26-year-old Canadian guard featured in the play-offs was in 2020, when he twice tallied 50 points against the Utah Jazz as the Nuggets reached the National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference finals.

Eight months later, he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and missed out on Denver’s last two post-seasons, which saw them get swept by the Phoenix Suns in the semi-finals in 2021 before losing to eventual champions the Golden State Warriors in the first round last season.

Said Nuggets coach Michael Malone: “It is kind of wild to think it’s been that long. I’m just so happy for him, proud of him.

“It has not been an easy journey for him but, this year, we’ve seen Jamal have moments where that’s the Jamal Murray that we all love and remember.”

Murray added: “I haven’t felt that much excitement in a minute, probably since the beginning of the season.”

As two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic told ESPN: “Sometimes Jamal Murray is our No. 1 player.”

Jokic finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 points, Bruce Brown added 14 points and Aaron Gordon had 13 points for the top-seeded Nuggets in the best-of-seven series at the Ball Arena.

Porter Jr suggested that Murray’s basketball IQ has improved since the serious injury.

He said: “I told him the other day I feel like he’s better now than before the injury... Just his overall game, his awareness, he had like a year off when he had to just watch.”

Anthony Edwards scored 18 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Nowell scored 12 points, Kyle Anderson added 11 and Rudy Gobert finished with 13 rebounds for Minnesota.

Said Minnesota coach Chris Finch: “Way more physical than we were. They played with more speed, more force. They kicked our butts in every category.”

Also returning to the post-season after an ACL injury was Kawhi Leonard, who poured in 38 points during his first play-off game in 22 months to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 115-110 victory in Phoenix in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.

This despite the absence of fellow All-Star Paul George, who according to ESPN, is likely to miss the series with a right knee sprain.

Kevin Durant had 27 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in his first play-off game for the fourth-seeded Suns. It marked the first time Phoenix lost in nine games with Durant on the court.

Devin Booker scored 26 points, Torrey Craig added 22 and Deandre Ayton had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Suns.

“That’s what we’ve been saving up for,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Leonard, the NBA’s poster boy for load management, playing over 40 minutes.

“This moment here in the play-offs, we have to play heavy minutes, especially with Paul George being out and he was great tonight.” REUTERS