David Adelman Reveals Reason Behind Jamal Murray's Off Night vs Lakers

It is not often that an All-Star records more fouls than points, but that is what Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray did against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Murray fouled out of a high-stakes overtime matchup in Los Angeles, finishing with just five points, six rebounds, and six assists on 1-14 shooting from the field and 1-7 from three-point range.

This was certainly Murray's worst offensive performance of the season, and it came at a costly time in a big matchup against the Lakers. Of course, Murray has done more than enough for the Nuggets over the years that we should not overreact about this performance, but it was a very surprising outing for the first-time All-Star. After the game, Nuggets coach David Adelman explained what was going on with his star point guard.

"Yeah, I mean, there was discomfort in his arm, for sure," Adelman said. "We talked at halftime, where he was at mentally with it, and he was full bore on to play. Some of the looks he had tonight were shots he makes in his sleep. Especially a couple in transition, when he got to the corner. When they were fronting Nikola [Jokic], he came off naked in front of our bench. I'll live with Jamal Murray shooting those shots every night."

A shocking performance by Murray

Typically, when Murray is hot, he does not cool down easily. In Denver's previous matchup, Murray erupted for 39 points, and in the game before that, he had 30. From 69 combined points through two games to just a five-point outing on Saturday was shocking, but Adelman knows his star point guard will bounce back.

"I can't remember a night like this from him," Adelman continued. "So this is not a normal thing, as everybody knows. So, he'll bounce back. He'll get two days here to get his body right, and we'll go from there."

This was the first time in Murray's career that he logged five or fewer points while playing 35+ minutes in a game. It was also just the fourth time in his nine-year career that he had fouled out of a game, and the first time since 2020.

It is easy to say this was one of Murray's worst performances of his career, but it was certainly amplified by the fact that they were facing the Lakers in a playoff-like environment.

Mar 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) during a time out in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

There has been no indication or official word of Murray dealing with an arm injury, but Adelman suggests he has something bothering him in that area. The star guard was playing through an ankle sprain, but Adelman only pointed to his arm when explaining the issue.

We will see how this impacts Murray moving forward, and after such a deflating overtime loss at the hands of a Luka Doncic game-winner, their two-day rest is very important. Hopefully, the Nuggets can re-focus and get healthier in their time off, and their schedule is set to lighten up toward the end of the regular season.