Everyone reveled in Jamal Murray’s playoff excellence en route to a championship. But Nuggets Nation suffered as Murray has dealt with one injury after another the past two seasons, bad luck and poor early-season conditioning conspiring to make him look old at the age of 28.

Now comes a chance for a reset. An opportunity to make critics — myself among them — swallow their tongues.

Friday, as co-general managers Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer talked about the Nuggets’ upgraded roster, flashbacks interrupted the joy.

We’ve heard this before. The pieces are in place. Nikola Jokic is the best player on the planet. All that is needed is for Murray to operate at a season-long standard that meets the rest of our expectations.

Perhaps you heard: Murray will be the NBA’s 15th highest-paid player in 2025 at $46.3 million, the first year of a $207.8 million max contract extension. He is the only player among the top 26 to never make an All-Star Game.

Doesn’t this infuriate him? His contract has been called the worst in Colorado sports, non-Kris Bryant division. Doesn’t that disrespect fuel him?

Apparently, it does.

The Nuggets recently posted on Twitter pictures and video of Murray working out with the summer league team in Las Vegas. For a player who had a disjointed offseason last summer — Murray was recovering from multiple injuries while playing terribly for Team Canada in the Olympics — this represents a positive sign.

By itself, it was not a headline. This is: Word is Murray has also been playing in pick-up games in Las Vegas at the Wynn Casino, where the Toronto Raptors continued their tradition of setting up two regulation courts in a ballroom. These games feature heavy hitters, players capable of pushing Murray more than practices with future G-Leaguers.

This is the type of stuff that perks ears and widens eyes. The type of routine that suggests Murray wants to raise a finger after a championship, preferably the middle one.

This is what the Nuggets need: A motivated Murray, taking from his love of the UFC, from the glove tap to the final bell.

It is impossible to overstate his importance to a title run. He is the connective tissue that supports all the recent moves, binds them together.

Josh Kroenke acknowledged that the front office would push players to remember the sour ending in Oklahoma City, making it clear that attitude and effort were non-negotiable. Coach David Adelman challenged them to return ready for a competitive training camp designed to facilitate a fast launch.

“I think we can come back more ready to start the season. I would love for us to come back more ready to go,” Adelman said. “That’ll be the expectation, to come back in much better shape.”

He did not mention names. But if it were an ad lib, Murray would have filled in the blank. By all accounts, he has gotten the message.

Forget making an All-Star team. That has always been a mix of popularity and politics. The Nuggets need Murray to play like an All-Star. They no longer have the margin for error that existed in 2023, permitting him to ramp up his conditioning during the first few months.

If last season taught us anything, it’s this: Exerting so much energy to level up left Murray vulnerable to injuries and compromised in the playoffs. That version of Murray wins just enough to drive us crazy, making us yearn for the higher ceiling we witnessed during previous playoff runs.

Seeing Murray getting reps in practice in Las Vegas, hearing about him getting run in pickup games, suggests he is taking ownership and assuming the responsibility that comes with his contract.

Perhaps reminders from people he trusts helped. Or perhaps he looked in the mirror and recognized the truth. Jokic is the brains of the Nuggets, playing Peyton Manning-type chess on offense. Murray is the heart of the Nuggets.

Last year he showed up and played the first 20 games like he needed an angioplasty. If he arrives bought in, everything changes.

Teammates will feed off him. Including Jonas Valanciunas, a backup center the front office believes will report to the Nuggets and dazzle with his rebounding and passing. Including Cam Johnson, who learned to score off the dribble in Brooklyn and has the type of basketball IQ to maximize his time on the floor with Jokic. Including Bruce Brown, who is ready for a redux. And including Tim Hardaway Jr., who is already slobbering at all the open spot-up looks he will get in this offense.

If Murray sets the tone in training camp, as expected, then Adelman can focus on teaching his schemes to fast-learning veterans and not get bogged down in calisthenics and fundamentals.

The Nuggets wisely resisted the temptation to run it back with last season’s roster. They are better. But an existing player is more important than any new additions.

A mad Murray, instead of a maddening Murray, holds the key to another championship.

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The company will pay a $90,000 fine to the state for accepting bets on the two events, according to documents filed with the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. The penalties were approved Thursday by the commission.

DraftKings accepted 100 wagers on the Paul-Tyson fight ahead of the November 2024 boxing match even though Colorado had issued a bulletin to sports betting companies that wagers would not be allowed under the state’s sports-betting rules, according to a stipulation and agreement notice.

Colorado’s gaming division determined the boxing match deviated from the rules approved by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports because the fighters would be wearing 14-ounce boxing gloves instead of the usual eight or 10-ounce gloves and because the fight would have two-minute rounds instead of the usual three-minute rounds.

Because of those rule changes, Colorado decided it would not be an acceptable match for wagering, the stipulation agreement stated.

But DraftKings opened a Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Props Pool anyway. In a props pool, gamblers bet on things that may happen in the match such as whether someone would get knocked down in the first round, whether the match would last six rounds or whether one fighter would win by a knockout. In the Paul-Tyson match there were prop bets on whether Tyson would bite Paul’s ear like he did in the infamous 1997 match against Evander Holyfield.

DraftKings accepted at least 100 wagers from Colorado before the sports-betting company removed the props pool from its Colorado betting sites and refunded the gamblers’ money.

The gaming commission determined DraftKings violated the state’s sports betting rules, including failing to obtain approval before offering a pool and failing to immediately report its violations to the state.

DraftKings was fined $50,000 for the Paul-Tyson pool.

The Paul-Tyson fight was a record-setting event for wagering on combat sports as millions of people logged onto Netflix to watch. Paul won by unanimous decision after eight rounds.

In a second stipulation and agreement approved by the gaming commission, DraftKings admitted it violated Colorado sports-betting rules by accepting proposition bets on how University of Arizona basketball star Caleb Love would perform in the March 23 NCAA basketball tournament second-round game against Oregon.

State sports-betting rules do not allow proposition bets on collegiate athletes’ individual performances. Multiple states have outlawed those bets because it could incentivize cheating and it could make the players targets of angry gamblers who blame them for losses.

DraftKings accepted 80 proposition bets from Colorado gamblers on March 23, according to the stipulation agreement, and reported its violation the next day after the game had been played. The agreement did not state whether DraftKings refunded the bettors’ money or paid out to winners.

DraftKings agreed to a $40,000 fine for that violation.

DraftKings chief compliance officer Jennifer Aguiar wrote in a statement to The Denver Post, “We promptly addressed the issues in coordination with the commission and have taken steps to strengthen our processes. We remain committed to upholding all regulatory standards in every jurisdiction where we operate and to delivering a responsible, seamless customer experience.”

DraftKings has paid fines in other states for gambling violations, including a $425,000 penalty in Ohio in 2024 for, in part, accepting wagers on college athletes’ performances in games.

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A coach who’ll tell him to show up in shape. Who’ll remind him to make the NBA, not the UFC, the three letters that matter most from October through June?

A coach who’ll bring up the award snubs. Who’ll do a Google search and show the Blue Arrow just how many writers have lamented the fact that Nikola Jokic has yet to play with another All-Star in Denver.

A coach who’ll read him, aloud, Jokic’s stats from ’24-25, that full-season triple-double. Who’ll then ask Maple Curry, the way we’ve all been asking for a week now, “How the heck did that guy not win an MVP award?”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swam with a roster that goes 10 deep. The Joker’s season sank in the kiddie pool for the second spring in a row.

David Adelman is slated to meet reporters at Ball Arena on Wednesday for the first time as the Nuggets’ full-time coach. So far, so good. For a guy asked to jump onto a moving train and keep it from finding a ditch in early April, he did a fine job.

But the hard part, the really hard part, starts now. Once the word “interim” is gone, you can just about kiss the honeymoon period goodbye, too.

Jokic turned 30 in February. Aaron Gordon, Mr. Nugget, turns 30 in September. Clock’s ticking. The Thunder and Timberwolves ain’t going anywhere. Neither are LeBron and the Lukars.

“I thought that he (was) able to thread the needle between challenging people with direct communication while also encouraging them almost at the same time,” Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke said of his new coach late last week. “And accountability was a key message of our last six weeks. And for sure, I think that was a key thing that (Adelman) kept at the front of his mind as he was trying to battle some of the best coaching staffs and teams in the league, was just holding guys accountable.”

Which is why I’m especially curious to see how he handles the mercurial Murray going forward.

Will Adelman let the Blue Arrow push him around? Or will he lay down the law on expectations? When it comes to the Joker’s title window, is DA ready to be a bad cop?

“I think he did a great job, considering everything,” Murray said of Adelman after a season-ending loss in Oklahoma City. “How we had to stay together, the different schemes we came up with. (Gordon) battling through everything. (Jokic) battling through everything. The bench stepping up. I just thought, all in all, guys (were) just staying with it and keeping a positive attitude and believing what we can do. (We) played 14 games, came up short in the last one. I’m frustrated and everything, but there’s a lot to take away from the last six, seven weeks or so.”

One takeaway never changes: The Nuggets will go as far in the playoffs as Murray takes them. Or has the legs to pull them through.

In the magical spring of ’23, the Blue Arrow put up at least 20 points 13 times during the Nuggets’ 20-game tidal wave of a title run. (Denver went 11-2 in those superlative Murray tilts, 4-0 against the Lakers.)

Over the two postseasons since, though, No. 27’s hit that “20” mark just 16 times over 26 appearances in the ’23-24 and ’24-25 playoffs. The Nuggets wound up going 10-6 in those games, 4-6 when Murray landed at 19 points or fewer.

“I think a lot of our answers,” Kroenke said last week, “are internal right now.”

Which was owner-speak for, “We’re going to run this bad boy back. Only better next time.”

How much better? How much longer? That depends largely on Murray’s shoulders. And legs.

Murray reportedly found himself battling a bad hamstring in April and an illness late in the OKC series. He toughed out a bad right elbow and a bum left calf during the ’24 playoffs.

Throw in a $208.5 million max extension — his estimated cap hit bumps up to $46.4 million next season, according to Spotrac — and it adds up to Murray becoming the most divisive star athlete in Front Range right now. After each passing June, after each frustrating postseason exit, the middle ground falls away.

Glass half-full: How can you not respect the way Jamal always shows up and plays hard through pain?

Glass half-empty: How come Jamal’s always hurt in the playoffs?

Both of those things can be true at the same time. Although it sure sounds as if Adelman and Kroenke are firmly united in the “half-full” camp. When it comes to Nuggets coaches and general managers, the Kroenkes prefer to keep things in-house. But what if the devil you know can’t chase old demons away?

“Bringing in (a coach) from the outside, while I was very open-minded to it initially, I saw the cohesiveness of the relationships on the human side,” Kroenke explained. “And I think that’s a big factor in where we’re heading with this group now and getting the most out of them.”

The spirit is willing, yet Playoff Jamal feels more and more like a ghost of parades past. If a coach has to scare that out of him, will Adelman have the power?

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Alex Caruso plays basketball like he’s trying to score a $50,000 bonus from Dana White. That said, the Nuggets probably could use, at minimum, two of him. Or two more of something relatively close to him if they’re to get the Joker another title in Denver before the horse is out of the barn.

“Alex did a great job,” interim Nuggets coach David Adelman said of Caruso, who attached himself to Jokic’s hip in the paint, scored 11 points, collected three steals and put up a ridiculous plus-40 in the plus/minus column during the Thunder’s blowout victory in Game 7.

“Like I said, (when) I talk about ‘substance,’ that’s what he is. He’s a player (where) the stat sheet doesn’t matter. He impacts winning.”

The Nuggets boast arguably the best pure offensive center in modern NBA history. The part where they’ve been swinging and missing since July 2023 is landing the complementary pieces to help him. The players who make Jokic’s superlative IQ, passing, hands, footwork and instincts look better while simultaneously helping paper over the parts he doesn’t do as well — protecting the rim, for instance.

One way to do that? Add tenacious wing defenders, Caruso types, who can either prevent the rock from reaching the rim in the first place or annoy players to the point where they can’t ever get comfy in the paint should the ball make it through.

As Paul McCartney once sang, there will be an answer — 3 and D.

For the second straight spring, the best “core four” in the NBA got sent fishing by a deeper, fresher roster. Before Sunday, Jokic was averaging 40.5 minutes per postseason game in 2025. Jamal Murray averaged 41.8. Aaron Gordon averaged 38.2. If you’re curious, the Joker averaged 40.2 during the ’24 playoffs. Murray averaged 38.5; Gordon, 37.1. I mean, did we learn nothing from the Minnesota series a year ago?

The ’23 Nuggets, the champs, featured a rotation of eight players who averaged at least 13 minutes per postseason appearance. By last year’s playoffs, that rotation of 13-plus minutes had shrunk to six players.

This year’s Thunder went into Game 7 with eight guys who averaged at least 13 minutes per playoff game. Last spring, same story.

Ditto for the ’23-24 Celtics who won it all. And for the Mavericks they wound up beating in the Finals. It’s not hard to miss the pattern here.

Stars are expensive to keep. Yet top-heavy teams risk running out of juice after 11 or 12 playoff games.

Caruso is old-school in that he plays defense the way John Starks and Anthony Mason did with Pat Riley’s mid-’90s Knicks. Bump, shove, poke, bump, shove, poke. The offensive player either loses his handle or loses his mind and throws a retaliatory elbow — hello, Flagrant 1.

Still, as postseason evils go, agitators are among the most necessary. Once Bruce Brown stuck his head inside the Suns’ huddle in the Western Conference semis three years ago, Phoenix was never really heard from again. Now Brucey B’s an unrestricted free agent. Hint. Hint.

Former GM Calvin Booth claimed he saw this coming and planned to buffer his starting five with young bucks who could do what Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jeff Green did at a fraction of the cost. Because of the massive contracts thrown at Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, most of those lottery tickets had to hit.

The Nuggets scratched off a winner in Christian Braun, and … well … that’s about it. No coincidence, then, that the Mile High City’s seen two consecutive second-round exits where the spirits were willing while the legs were shot.

“It’s just about getting to the finish line healthier,” Adelman told reporters on Sunday. “You have to have the freshest version of yourself. That’s part of why I’m so proud of these guys to get to seven (games).”

As constructed by former GMs Tim Connelly and Booth, the current core feels stuck together — either until somebody finds the courage to blow some big parts up or until some of those max contracts expire. Denver can’t afford better veteran options at, say, rotational spots six through nine unless it’s willing to make a big trade and accept all the risks therein.

Otherwise, the Nuggets are going to keep rolling the dice with kids or veterans on minimum deals. And that’s no way to gamble away Jokic’s prime.

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Lakewood resident Justin Gaethje is set to fight Rafael Fiziev in the co-main event on Saturday at UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje is coming off a knockout loss to Max Holloway in April 2024 but is the No. 3 lightweight contender.

“I used to be so aggressive, then I started to find success by being a little more passive, then I believe I became a little too passive,” Gaethje said. “And now it’s time to go in the other direction, and especially be more aggressive than I was in the last fight.”

The final moments of the viral KO defeat to Holloway, in which the two fighters went blow-for-blow in the waning moments before Holloway sent Gaethje to the canvas with one second left, is the unhinged hostility that Gaethje wants to summon on Saturday.

“I knew that I had probably lost the fight on the scorecards, and my only option was to put it all on the line and try to knock him out,” Gaethje recalled. “It sucks that I waited so long for that, because I think that was the mistake that I made for the entirety of that fight — trying to wait for things instead of going in there and making things happen.

“If you’ve seen me fight the majority of my fighting career, you’re going to see more of that guy, but a much more athletic, refined version of that. So I’m excited to go in there on Saturday and try it out.”

Coming off a title loss to Charles Oliveira in 2022, Gaethje beat Fiziev by majority decision in ’23, then KO’d Dustin Poirier with a kick to the head later that year. While the loss to Holloway derailed Gaethje’s momentum, the 36-year-old is still hungry for another chance at the belt. The former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion in 2020, Gaethje is 0-2 in title bouts since that triumph, with both defeats coming by submission.

So the former Northern Colorado wrestling star sees Saturday’s bout against Fiziev — a short-notice fill-in after originally scheduled opponent Dan Hooker fractured his hand — as a chance to put himself back into the conversation for a title shot against Islam Makhachev.

The belt holder is currently UFC’s No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter and has won five straight title fights dating back to taking the belt from Oliveira in 2022.

“Right now, the timing is perfect for me to go out there, have an amazing performance and get a finish, and then I’m right there in the conversation because there’s really no obvious choice right now,” Gaethje said. “I’ve never fought Makhachev. Oliveira has, (Poirier) had a chance. Ilia Topuria wants it, but Makhachev’s going to make him fight somebody else (first). So hopefully the timing works out perfectly.”

Gaethje knows his time is short to make another push for the belt. But he trusts his two coaches (wrestling coach Ben Cherrington has been with him for 17 years, and striking coach Trevor Wittman for 13 years), as well as his family, to let him know when it’s time to retire.

“I rely on them to have that discussion when that discussion needs to be had,” Gaethje said. “But until then, I have to stay in it. I feel the same as I did when I was 28, 22. I’ve been lucky to not have any serious injuries, and I still feel great. Fighting is still in me.”

Also of local note, Golden resident Curtis Blaydes is fighting Saturday as well, with the heavyweight taking on Rizvan Kuniev in the final bout of the prelims. Blaydes is looking to get back in the win category after getting TKO’d by Tom Aspinall a minute into the interim heavyweight title bout last summer.

Bowling, a 175-pound senior from Mead, exudes calm and confidence the moment he steps onto the mat. He doesn’t aim just to win, the Iowa wrestling commit vies to make others lose.

He runs the score up because a pin isn’t enough. That route’s fast and easy for those on the receiving end. It’s too fast and too easy for Bowling. Why? “I work too hard to go out there and pin some kid in 10 seconds,” he said. “I like to show what I work on. … I like to dominate.”

During Friday’s semifinal match against Pueblo East’s Elijah Contreras, Bowling racked up three-point takedowns like they were nothing on the way to a 17-2 technical fall in 5:21.

The quarterfinal was a 19-4 tech fall and his CHSAA state tournament opener was a pin in 2:30. He was mad at himself for that last one because it was “too sloppy.”

“I’ve always been this way. I always like to score points,” Bowling said. “It’s very upsetting to me when I don’t get what I want because I work really hard for what I want to accomplish.”

His high school bout count is relatively low (19-3 in 22 matches after winning Saturday’s final) because he takes online courses so he can travel the world to wrestle. Currently, his favorite style is Greco-Roman wrestling, a discipline in which legs cannot be used to obtain a fall and holds cannot be used below the waist.

As a junior last year, he became an All-American for his podium finish in the U-16 U.S. Greco-Roman National Championships. He joined his father and grandfather, also named Leister Bowling, as All-Americans.

For Bowling IV, big whoop. He didn’t win. Even listing his accomplishments, which includes a qualifying spot for the U-20 U.S. World Team this August, the tone in his voice is nonchalant. “I’m definitely not satisfied. I haven’t won anything yet,” he said, despite being the defending state champion in Class 4A at 175 pounds.

His ambitions go way further than the mat. While a wrestling stint at Iowa will serve as a means, the end is a career in the UFC.

That dream comes with a stipulation from his dad, Leister Bowling III, who has coached some of the biggest names in UFC: T.J. Dillashaw, Georges St-Pierre and Cat Zingano, among others.

“I’ve always told him I wouldn’t really help him fight until he got done wrestling in college,” Bowling III said. “If you can make it through a college wrestling grind, then you can fight. Not all these fighters would be able to make it as a college wrestler.”

The younger Bowling is just fine with that. Especially going to a program as prestigious as Iowa, where, again, the only feasible goal for him is to win individual and team national titles.

The connections are strong, too. Legacy Fighting Alliance (an MMA promotion company that often feeds into UFC) president Sven Bean is a close friend of Bowling’s dad. Bean has been a staple in the family’s lives since before Bowling was born, showing up at dinner parties and engaging in constant conversation.

Bean, who resides in Colorado, attends the CHSAA tournament every year. It was just in a bit of a different capacity this time around. The interest he’s taken in Bowling had Bean down on the floor with a camera, capturing the senior’s second state title with a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over Pueblo Central’s Genaro Pino.

“If he’s really going to go down this path, I just want to document it and also show him support,” Bean told The Denver Post. “I’ve been watching him since he was a kid. … If after his college career he makes that transition, we’ll have this footage, and that will be cool.”

So if everything goes right, he stays healthy and still wants to make the jump after his time at Iowa, then what?

“The moment he says, ‘This is what I want to do,’ then there’s a plan to make that happen,” Bean said.

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No chance. No lives whatsoever. We wake up in a triangle offense. We pick and roll until lunchtime, baby.

But we’ll also admit that Jamal Murray’s comments during a roller-coaster week that saw Denver stomp the Lakers in Los Angeles and then come home and give up 265 points — yeah, yeah it was only 145, but it felt like more — to the Knicks got us … well, thinking.

Which is always dangerous.

“It’s a long season,” the Nuggets guard said after New York went wild at Ball Arena. “Guys have lives outside of basketball. We just beat L.A. in L.A. We’ve got some guys that live in L.A. And like I said, I just don’t think the focus was there, from everybody. And that’s what happens when you don’t have focus.”

Look, GTW always appreciates Murray’s candor, especially following a defeat. In fact, the Blue Arrow’s postgame pressers on the heels of a loss are often more insightful than after a victory.

The “focus” question is concerning, given the key veteran locker room departures in recent years. And the “lives outside basketball” comment is a bit of a cringe moment, too.

But let’s dribble back to the premise. Is La La Land a problem? Is there such a thing as a Los Angeles hangover for Murray and the Nuggets during the regular season?

Because Denver’s at the Clippers on Sunday night, only to follow THAT one up with a home game on Tuesday against … the Pacific-leading Warriors. Turn up with another SoCal Hangover, and you might get run out of your own building again.

Nuggets’ Laker hangovers — C.

Only the cats with the calculators in the GTW offices aren’t entirely sure that the SoCal Hangover is a real, you know, thing.

Since the fall of 2020, the Nuggets have made 17 trips to Los Angeles to face either the Lakers or the Clippers. They’ve got a 10-7 record in the game immediately following said tilt against either of the Los Angeles squads.

Although …

While L.A. and the whole “lives outside basketball” thing might not be a problem, the Lakers could be. The Nuggets are 7-2 in the regular season over their last nine opportunities in the game following a Clippers road test, but … just 3-5 in their last eight regular-season contests that have come on the heels of a Lakers showdown at Crypto.com Arena.

And 0-3 in those last three next-game-up situations after a visit to 1111 South Figueroa St.

SoCal Hangover? Not a prob.

Lakers Hangover? Kinda getting there.

Although the Nuggets will be fine, right? Right? (Looks around the room nervously.) The computers still think so: Statnik Kenneth Massey as of Saturday morning had Denver on track to win 47 games and land a 5 seed in the postseason; TeamRanking.com’s projections put that victory total at 49 and a 6 seed in the West.

Not home-court-advantage great. But fine. (More nervous looks.) Right?

Told you we don’t have lives.

DU soccer adding to golden ’24 for Pios — A

Belated high-fives to the Pios’ men’s soccer squad, which made its third-ever trip to the NCAA Round of 16 on Saturday afternoon. As a No. 3 seed, DU hosted Indiana (14), with the winner taking over either No. 11 Virginia or UMass-Amherst this upcoming weekend.

The hits keep coming on Asbury Avenue. In September, Pios men’s soccer became the third DU squad to achieve a No. 1 ranking in its respective sport since March, joining men’s lacrosse and, of course, men’s hockey.

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He missed a rare midrange step-back attempt. He scored over a tough contest in the lane after running a slot pick-and-roll with DeAndre Jordan, while Jamal Murray stood in the strong-side corner. By the third quarter, it had gotten to be a little too much. Murray passed to Braun on the right wing, giving him seven seconds to score in isolation, and he air-balled a pull-up jumper from the foul line.

Braun has been excellent this season in an increased role, offensively and defensively. But the Nuggets don’t want to be relying on him as an off-the-dribble shot creator in the halfcourt. Maybe he has untapped potential, but it’s mostly TBD for now — to be developed. His 16 points per game have been a result of cutting, spotting up, slashing and, of course, sprinting the floor in transition. Exactly 80% of his field goals have been assisted, often by Nikola Jokic.

That Braun needed to take a few more uncomfortable shots than usual in Memphis was a reflection of Jokic’s absence, yes, but also an indictment of the players who are supposed to be Denver’s go-to scorers. Braun ended up with 13 points — the same as Murray and more than Michael Porter Jr. in a 105-90 loss.

The Nuggets were desperate for someone to step up without Jokic. Their second and third options, when upgraded to first and second options, combined for 23 points on 27 shots and eight turnovers.

“We’ve gotta figure out other ways to score when it’s tough,” Porter said.

MPJ has struggled on this road trip, but overall after 12 games, he’s still averaging an efficient 17.8 points and playing heavy minutes. He’s the team’s second-leading scorer. The problem is that he’s not supposed to be.

Murray is. Missing Jokic the last two games has accentuated his inefficiency, but the 27-year-old was playing below his standard even before the MVP center stayed home for personal reasons.

Murray, who signed a four-year max extension before the season, is at 17.3 points per game on 39.9% shooting from the field, including a 30.2% clip from three.

“Obviously, we need Jamal,” coach Michael Malone said. “Especially when Nikola and Aaron (Gordon) are out, we need Jamal to be a guy that can lead us. And that’s not just on Jamal Murray. I can help him. I’m drawing up plays. … No matter what we’re running and who we’re running it for, our screens and our ability to create space and separation have to be much-improved to get those guys better looks, and more clean looks.”

Malone’s emphasis on play-calling and screening as devices to improve Murray’s numbers should warrant monitoring. The point guard is playing off-ball noticeably more than usual. Last season, 41.8% of his field goals were assisted. The year before, 42.9% of them were. Both of those seasons, 60% of his 3s were assisted. Murray has long been a scorer whose rhythm is self-established, using his own robust tool belt as a handler. That’s how a player gets paid like he did.

This season so far, 52.7% of Murray’s made shots have been assisted, including 75% of his 3s. His usage rate is down to 22.5% from 27.3% last year. When Jokic is healthy, the Nuggets are treating his post-ups as their bread and butter, rather than the two-man game.

If they can minimize the physical strain on Murray during the regular season while simultaneously getting his efficiency back up by using him more as a spot-up shooter, the Nuggets will be having their cake and eating it, too. But that’s when Jokic is on the court. The fact remains that Murray’s getting paid to be more than that. Denver particularly needs to see the alpha-scorer within him when Jokic is out.

“He’s the starting point guard that helped us win a championship,” Malone said when asked whether Murray needs to be more of a scorer or a facilitator for teammates in these situations. “In those Finals, he averaged 10 assists per game. He averaged 20 points per game. So I wouldn’t say just one or the other. Jamal has gotta be a playmaker, which he was tonight. Seven assists. And he’s gotta be a scorer for us. Because if it’s not him, you’re asking some really young players to try and carry a load that they’re probably not ready to carry.”

Such as Braun, who still somehow compiled his 13 points on fewer shot attempts than Murray on Sunday. Or Julian Strawther, who led the Nuggets with 19. Murray was 6 of 15 from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range. On the road trip, he is 3 of 14 beyond the arc.

The second half of Denver’s loss to the Pelicans may not have been the platonic ideal of Murray, but it was a display of fundamentally solid, high-IQ read-and-react basketball. There was no talk of him lacking aggression from Nuggets lead assistant coach David Adelman after the loss. Murray had responded well to getting relentlessly blitzed on ball screens.

Ball pressure caught up with him in Memphis. Six turnovers. One for each made shot.

“Teams are trying to take him out,” Malone said. “When Nikola Jokic isn’t playing, the whole game plan is to shut down Jamal and Michael. And obviously, tonight, that was effective. They did a really good job.”

But for Murray to stand out as more than just Jokic’s point guard, sometimes he’ll have to simply beat good defense with better ball-in-hand offense.

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It was there where Namajunas was baptized a little over a year ago — part of a rededication that’s underscored a late-career push to become a two-division UFC champion.

In that time, the Westminster resident gave up drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, and channeled her focus on her Christian faith. The result’s been a two-fight win streak she’s looking to extend Saturday in a main-card bout against Erin Blanchfield at UFC Fight Night in Edmonton, Canada. It’s the first time in Namajunas’ UFC career that she’s had three fights in a calendar year.

“I drifted away from my faith in my younger adult life, and didn’t feel like I needed God at one point,” Namajunas said. “Then I realized, I really do, and I started searching. … And ever since I’ve brought Him back into my life, it’s been everything to me. That is driving all of my thoughts and actions every day. Anytime I get away from (my faith), I don’t recognize myself all of a sudden. It’s the anchor that keeps pulling me back.

“It’s something that I feel called to do, and I would say it’s the source of all of my success right now.”

The 32-year-old Namajunas, a two-time strawweight division champion who moved up to flyweight in 2023, started in the 125-pound weight class with a loss to Manon Fiorot in September 2023. But Namajunas responded with consecutive victories, first over Amanda Ribas in May, then over Tracy Cortez in the main event at Ball Arena in July.

Namajunas’ decision to get baptized again — she was also baptized when she was 9 years old, but says it was by her abusive stepfather and thus “was a confusing thing for me” — has fueled her drive to step into the octagon for the third time in 2024.

“I basically just made a decision of, if I can (fight a lot), I’m going to do it,” Namajunas said. “Normally, after my last performance (in Denver), the thought when I was younger would be to just enjoy my time a little bit. There wasn’t quite that sense of urgency.

“But now, I’m ready to find out if I can complete all the tasks I want to complete for my career, and see what I’m capable of. If I can be a two-division champion, I’m going to do it in the most efficient and also the most enjoyable way.”

Namajunas is ranked No. 5 in the flyweight division and is a +105 betting underdog against No. 3 Blanchfield, who enters Rogers Place coming off a loss to Fiorot in March. Before that, Blanchfield won her first six UFC fights.

With a win over Blanchfield, Namajunas would be knocking on the door for a shot at the flyweight belt currently held by Valentina Shevchenko, who took the title back from Alexa Grasso with a unanimous victory at UFC 306 in September.

Grasso remains the No. 1 contender, and Fiorot is No. 2. Greeley fighter Maycee Barber is No. 4 but has been sidelined recently by medical issues that forced her to withdraw from July’s planned bout against Namajunas in Denver.

“If I win this fight, (a title shot) would make sense,” Namajunas said. “I think the UFC will probably try to do Manon versus Shevchenko (for the next title fight) because that also makes sense. It depends on when that lines up and if I, based off my performance and what the UFC offers, get that chance.

“I’ve also enjoyed being as active as I have been, so I don’t mind taking another fight if need be. But I also want to become a two-division champion and I know my time is limited. … The UFC should make that (Manon vs. Shevchenko) fight happen, and I should be next right in line if that’s how things play out.”

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The 31-year-old Denver native takes on Tatsuro Taira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. A win would likely catapult Royval, the No. 1 contender in the flyweight division who beat No. 2 Brandon Moreno in his last fight, to another shot at the belt.

It would also help pay for a new gym Royval plans to open off Federal Boulevard in the southwest part of the city.

“I’m fighting for something bigger than me — I’m fighting for an opportunity for a lot of people,” Royval said. “None of this happens without the notoriety of being ranked No. 1, none of it happens without winning the fight and getting more money and keeping the kind of status that I’ve earned at this point in my career.

“The goal is just to bring youth in there. I don’t care about building (professional) fighters. … My goal is to bring world-class MMA and world-class wrestling to the community, especially along the Federal area to predominately Hispanic communities.”

Royval, who left Englewood-based Factory X after his win over Moreno, envisions an all-compassing gym at that spot.

It would give his team, which includes his coach Clay Matza, UFC lightweight Alexander Hernandez and Fury Fighting Championship titleist flyweight Luis Gurule, a permanent place to train. But Royval says it would also act as an affordable youth development program. He plans to start wrestling classes and a wrestling club, in addition to MMA training.

The facility would also offer mentorship opportunities, as well as tutoring, counseling and nutrition services.

“I just want to provide a place that’s safe, and one that keeps kids busy and on the right track,” Royval said. “There’s a lot of aid that can be given to these communities and kids who live in the surrounding projects, and I’d love to be a part of it as much as possible to help shape some of these futures.”

Despite his ranking as the top contender in the division and upset of Moreno in February in Mexico City, Royval enters Saturday as a +190 betting underdog, per Draft Kings. Tatsuro Taira is 16-0 as a pro, including 6-0 in the UFC, and ranked fifth in his weight class. The hype is high for the Japanese fighter, who’s coming off a June TKO win over Alex Perez after Perez suffered a knee injury in the second round.

Royval, who has trained with Taira in the past, claims “I can dog him everywhere.” Royval has recovered from the torn MCL in his left knee that he suffered early in the win over Moreno.

“I can beat him in a straight-up fight, I can out-technique him, I think I’m faster, I hit harder,” Royval said. “My ground game’s better, my striking’s better. In my opinion, he’s a little green as far as experience goes. He hasn’t really beat anybody (notable). And I’ve fought who’s who.

“I’m here to prove there’s levels to this. He’s a good kid, a nice kid. That being said, he’s running into a very not nice man.”

Royval believes that with a victory over Taira, the UFC won’t be able to deny him a rematch against reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja. The Chatfield graduate lost to Pantoja via unanimous decision in a title fight last December, and Pantoja has since defended his belt again in a victory over Steve Erceg at UFC 301 in May.

“I’m going to take out everyone in front of me,” Royval said. “That’s all there is to it. Anyone the UFC thinks is a contender, I’m going to take them out until they have no choice but to put me back into that title fight.”

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