Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray set the record for the most points by a Canadian in an NBA playoff series during Game 6 against the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
Jamal Murray sets record for most points in a single playoff series by a Canadian (183 and counting)
Previous mark: 182 by the Suns Steve Nash in 2005 West Semi vs Mavs
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) August 31, 2020
Murray and the No. 3 Nuggets entered Sunday’s game hoping to stave off elimination against the No. 6 Jazz and won the game 119-107 to force a Game 7.
Through five games, the Kitchener, Ont., native had scored 154 points (30.8 per game) on 55.7 per cent shooting. He finished Game 6 with 50 points, including nine three-pointers and 17-24 shooting overall.
The previous single-series scoring record for a Canadian was held by Steve Nash (raised in Victoria, B.C.), who had 182 points for the Phoenix Suns in a 2005 series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Beyond the Canadian record, Murray’s Game 6 performance put him among the all-time greats in the NBA for other reasons. By hitting 50 points, as he also did in Game 4, Murray became just the fourth player to post multiple 50-point games in a playoff series, joining Michael Jordan, Allan Iverson and Donovan Mitchell — who has already done it for the Jazz in this series. Additionally, he’s only the sixth player to ever score at least 40 points in three-straight playoff games.
While his historic performance will make headlines, Murray wanted to discuss more important things after the game. Wearing shoes honouring George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, he got emotional in his post-game interview with TNT while talking about the greater fight for social injustice the NBA has taken up.
“It’s not just in America, it happens everywhere,” Murray said of why the fight for justice is important to him. “These shoes give me life. Even though these people are gone, they give me life. They help me find strength to keep fighting this war.”
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