Buckets can be acquired at any time, but after eight years of Mile High mastery, three scenarios are guaranteed to inspire Jamal Murray’s on-court apex: (1) crunchtime, (2) when the NBA’s 82-game calendar remotely approaches springtime, and (3) the sight of the Los Angeles Lakers. Eager to test the results of when all three are in play at once, Murray first calls upon his All-NBA big man, benefitting from a security bouncer-like screen that clears two gold-colored jerseys simultaneously. Accepting of the wide-open 3-point look that ensues, Murray hops into unguarded space before burying a game-clinching trifecta, affording the Denver Nuggets a permanent lead in the final six seconds. The pick-and-roll play — a literal carbon copy from minutes before — allowed Denver to survive a scrappy-as-ever effort from a Lakers group missing its All-Star pairing. Adding yet another bullet point to his late-game résumé, Murray collected a 26-point performance (on just 16 shots), alongside four rebounds, five assists, one block, and five 3-pointers on March 14, 2025. · Mar 15, 2025