With a victory over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night of the 2023-24 NBA season, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets showed that their rivalry is about more than just basketball.
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Although the Lakers were defeated by the defending champions, 119-107, at Ball Arena, James made sure to stop by Murray’s family before boarding the team bus.
In response to the kind act of the King, Murray shared the footage on his Instagram Story. This is “the side that they don’t see,” the famous Canadian penned. It’s obvious that the two celebrities get along well.
Nuggets and Murray get off to a great start
The Nuggets started off strong in front of their adoring fans, picking up just where they left off following their dominant run through the 2023 NBA Playoffs. The team was led by Nikola Jokic, who had a monster game. The Finals MVP from last year started out with a triple-double, scoring 29 points while also grabbing 13 boards and dishing out 11 assists.
“I think we controlled the game the whole time,” the superstar stated afterward.
Murray contributed 21 points, with two boards, six assists, and a block, to the winning cause. Twenty points each came from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr.
Less playing time doesn’t bother LeBron.
LeBron led the way for the Lakers despite playing approximately five minutes less than usual.
“I meаn, I аlwаys wаnt tо be оn the flооr,” Jаmes sаid аfter the lоss, “especiаlly when yоu gоt аn оppоrtunity tо win а gаme оr feel like yоu cаn mаke аn impаct. But I suppоse there is а prоcedure, аnd I’ll use it.
The league’s oldest player, at 38 years old, has stated that he is “not surprised or upset” by the team’s decision to limit his playing time early in the season.
In his first game with the Lakers, Taurean Prince scored 18 points, Anthony Davis had 17, Austin Reaves scored 14, and D’Angelo Russell contributed 11.
After being down by as many as 18 points, Los Angeles went on a 13-0 run in the third and fourth quarters to cut the deficit to three. An Aaron Gordon three-pointer put an end to the run, so it wouldn’t matter.
It was inspiring to see James and Murray show such good sportsmanship after the match, regardless of the score.