DENVER — Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray reaggravated a right thigh injury that kept him out of the final 53 seconds of Game 2 and will undergo treatment over the next 48 hours.
Murray missed six of his eight 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points and seven assists, then had to watch the final seconds of Portland’s 97-90 victory at Denver in Game 2.
Murray first bruised his thigh during the first round by absorbing a screen from San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl, and he has been nursing a right shoulder injury. He said he ran into another screen on Tuesday and had difficulty moving as Game 2 progressed.
“Those screens hurt,” Murray said. “It is what it is. It hurt for the rest of the game. Couldn’t move, obviously, and coach [Michael Malone] had to take me out. I’m just going to get treatment and just be ready for Game 3. It was definitely hurting.”
Murray will try to get his thigh to “loosen up as much as possible” in the next few days, according to Malone.
“It’s that right thigh area,” Malone said. “Obviously, I think it is still probably sore and bruised from last series, and he probably got hit there again.”
In addition to Murray hobbling, the Nuggets lost Torrey Craig for nearly 21 minutes between the second and third quarters after he sustained a bloody nasal contusion by inadvertently falling into teammate Monte Morris’ knee. Craig and Portland’s Zach Collins went for a loose ball before Craig fell into Morris.
Craig, who scored seven points in 19 minutes, returned wearing a protective mask late in the third quarter. He had his nose reexamined before the team flew to Portland late after Game 2.
Both Murray and Craig have been pivotal parts of Denver’s playoff success. Murray is averaging 23.4 points in the Nuggets’ five playoff victories this postseason.
After Malone inserted Craig in the Nuggets’ starting lineup in place of Will Barton in Game 4 in the first round against San Antonio, the Nuggets won four of their next five playoff games and erased a 2-1 deficit to beat the Spurs. Craig’s defensive versatility played a huge role in that series win over San Antonio.
Craig and Murray also were at the center of a dust-up in the final seconds of Game 2. After Portland center Enes Kanter was shoved into Craig by Nikola Jokic , Denver guard Gary Harris took exception and verbally let Kanter know.
During the ensuing timeout with 43.6 seconds left, Murray left the bench and had words with Kanter. Both teams separated the sides to prevent things from escalating.
“There was nothing dirty about it,” Malone said. “The first play was inadvertent, and Torrey falls and winds up hitting Monte Morris’ knee. There’s nothing dirty about that. It’s an unfortunate bounce for Torrey Craig.
“And the second one, Nikola and Kanter are tangled up in the paint, Kanter goes flying up the floor and runs into Torrey. I don’t think there’s any malice in either one of those plays. But listen: Both of these teams are trying to get to the Western Conference finals. It’s going to be hard-fought and physical, but there is nothing dirty about it, and I respect that.”