In the victorious Denver Nuggets locker room after Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week, the loudest pocket of noise emanated from the corner.
Jamal Murray and Christian Braun, the seventh-year veteran and rookie, were sitting in cushy office chairs in front of their adjoining lockers. Their frequent staccato bursts of laughter served as the soundtrack to a lively conversation — about the game they just played, about life — similar to so many postgame interactions the two guards have had during this memorable season.
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“Jamal’s always been supportive,” Braun said. “Me and him are close, obviously. We try to hype each other up, get each other ready.”
Murray and Braun are far different players stylistically and have different roles for the Nuggets, which is now just two wins from its first championship. But they share a similar basketball bedrock, a foundation for the journeys that led both players to starring roles in Denver’s 109-94 Game 3 victory over the Heat on Wednesday night in Miami to give the Nuggets a 2-1 series lead.
Murray finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, making him and Nikola Jokić (32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists) the first pair of teammates in NBA history to author a 30-point triple-double in the same game. Braun scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and his lightning-quick cutting behind Miami’s zone helped Denver create separation in the second half.
“You won us the game,” Jokić told Braun afterward.
Murray and Braun were raised in the game by hard-driving parents who emphasized mental toughness. Roger Murray had his son do push-ups in the snow, then stay outside until he hit a predetermined number of consecutive free throws. Lisa Braun, Christian’s mother, was his first coach, leading the third-grade AAU team after seizing control from Christian’s dad, Donnie.
“My husband is a lot more soft-hearted than I am,” Lisa told The Athletic recently. “Everybody played and blah, blah, blah. I play to win. The kids wanted to win. It wasn’t about who played what. So I was like, ‘OK, step aside.’ We coach a lot differently.”
Murray (Kentucky) and Braun (Kansas) also both attended blue-blood college programs and later joined the Nuggets as first-round draft picks. But the most obvious thread that connects the two players who figure to lead this Nuggets backcourt into the future is found in the emotionally charged way they play the game, the way they roar with — or at — a frenzied crowd.
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In descriptions shared by coaches and teammates after Game 3, the word that kept popping up was “energy.” It can be a vague descriptor, one that doesn’t account for shot variance or various other factors that win and lose games, but with Murray and Braun on Wednesday night it was tangible, real.
Michael Malone could see it in Murray the day before Game 3 when the coach put his arm around his star point guard following a Tuesday practice. The focus, the passion, the desire to rebound from an off night in Game 2, Murray was wearing it all. Teammates saw that same simmering intensity in Braun, who scored three driving buckets and added a steal in three minutes upon returning to the game in the third quarter. Every cut was made with precision and speed, and he attacked the rim without hesitation.
“That’s who he is,” teammate Michael Porter Jr. said of Braun. “He’s a confident dude, on and off the court. It’s good to see him get an opportunity to show what he can do on the biggest stage and play the way he played.”
What has made Braun so indispensable for the Nuggets — whether it is with a playoff-best scoring performance as he had in Game 3 or the feisty defense he’s played at every turn — is the degree to which he’s embraced his role. He has said repeatedly in this postseason that he has an “easy job,” because all he has to do is enter the game, spill out the energy that comes naturally and play off the team’s stars.
“Playing with those guys, they make the right play every time,” he said after Wednesday’s game. “My job is just to be ready when my name is called.”
All that matters for the Nuggets now is two more victories. They could be 96 minutes away from a title with the next step coming in Game 4 Friday in Miami.
Still, it has been tempting during this series, particularly after Murray and Braun led a breathtaking second-quarter run in Game 2, to imagine what this backcourt duo could become in the future. Bruce Brown, the Nuggets’ super sub who may have been the best free-agent acquisition of last summer, will almost certainly opt out of the player option on his contract for next season ($6.8 million) because he is due a hefty raise on the open market. Retaining him will be a tall task for Denver.
If the Nuggets can’t keep Brown, the obvious adjustment would be a more significant and expanded role for Braun, which would give him more time as a running mate alongside Murray. But those are discussions that can start in a week or so. For now, the Nuggets need Murray to be an aggressive flamethrower. They need Braun to offer the same energy and toughness he provided in his support role in Game 3.
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