Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will play in Monday’s Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The Nuggets listed Murray as questionable on Sunday with a calf strain, and he was a true game-time decision on Monday. Head coach Michael Malone told reporters in his pregame news conference that Murray was still considered questionable.
Murray then warmed up with a wrap around his injured calf and was reportedly cleared to play.
The news is a relief to a Nuggets team looking to close the Lakers out. Denver won the first three games of the series before the Lakers won Game 4 in Los Angeles on Saturday. Murray appeared to sustain the injury during Game 4.
With a win on Monday, the Nuggets would advance to the second round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota is fresh off a sweep of the Phoenix Suns that it clinched on Sunday. A Lakers win Monday night would send the series back to Los Angeles on Thursday for Game 6.
Murray averaged 21.2 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds during the regular season while shooting 48.1% from the field and a career-high 42.5% from 3-point distance. He hit the game-winning buzzer-beater in a dramatic Game 2 victory that capped a Nuggets comeback from a 20-point deficit.
