Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ontario of the Denver Nuggets set a career playoff-high with 36 points on Monday to open the 2020 National Basketball Association Playoffs from Orlando, Florida. He accomplished the feat in a 135-125 Nuggets overtime win over the Utah Jazz in game one of the Western Conference quarterfinal from Orlando, Florida.
In the 53 minutes of action, Murray successfully shot 13 of 20 field goal attempts, six of nine three-point attempts, and knocked down all four free throws. He also had nine assists, five rebounds, and one steal.
Murray’s previous playoff-high was 34 points. He accomplished that feat twice during the 2019 NBA Playoffs. The first time was in a 140-137 Nuggets loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in game three of the Western Conference Semifinal on May 3, 2019, and the second time was in a 116-112 win over the Trail Blazers in game four of the Western Conference Semifinal on May 5, 2019.
Even though Murray led the Nuggets in scoring on Monday, he did not have the most points in the game. On the Jazz squad, Donovan Mitchell scored 57 points, the third most by one player in one game in NBA postseason history.
Murray’s regular season career-high for points in a game came on November 5, 2018. He had 48 points in a 115-107 Denver win over the Boston Celtics. That is the most points in a single game by a Canadian in the NBA.
