Jamal Murray dropped 53 points against the Mavericks last night

Only three NBA players have multiple games with at least 50 points this season. One is a former Kentucky Wildcat.

Jamal Murray exploded for 53 points on Wednesday night for the Denver Nuggets in a 142-135 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The first-time All-Star shot 19-28 from the field, 9-14 from deep, and a perfect 6-6 from the line to reach his second 50-burger of the 2025-26 campaign. He chipped in six rebounds and four assists for good measure. 33 of his points came in the first half.

Murray wasn’t the only Nugget putting up big numbers last night, though. His teammate, MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, posted 23 points, 21 rebounds, and 19 assists. Not too shabby. With that, Denver became the first-ever NBA team to have one player go for 50 points in the same game that a teammate registered at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists.

“53 from your point guard and 23, 21, 19 from your center. Just outrageous numbers from the best tandem in the NBA,” Denver coach David Adelman said postgame. “They really are the history book of this franchise when it comes to the longevity together, and also the playoffs and all these wars they’ve been through in a basketball sense, it’s just super special.”

Murray also went for 52 points back on December 5 in a win over the Indiana Pacers. He joins Jokic and Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic as the only three players this season with at least two 50-point games. Murray now has four 50-point games across his nine pro seasons.

It’s been a career stretch for Murray, who appeared in his first NBA All-Star Game earlier this year. He’s posting career-highs in points (25.4), rebounds (4.4), and assists (7.1) this season while shooting career-highs in field goal percentage (48.3) and three-point percentage (42.6). The 28-year-old is doing all this for a Denver team that is 46-28 on the season, good enough for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Murray and Jokic already know what it takes to win the NBA Finals. Don’t be shocked if they make another run for a title together in June.

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